Different Defenders
by Phantom Rosabelle
Summary: Andros returns from the Serpenterra mission looking forward to time with Ashley and their children, but fate had something else in mind.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Aidan, the twins, and the seven mystery people are mine. The rest belongs to Saban or Disney.

Chapter 1

The house was quiet as he entered, much as he'd expected it to be; it was past midnight, and Ashley and their three children would be fast asleep by now. Andros exhaled deeply as he closed the door behind him, never more glad to be home. Serpenterra was gone, and there was nothing in the world that could make him want to pick up a morpher again.

He moved silently up the stairs, not wanting to wake his children, although he stopped in their rooms long enough to get a good look at them. He'd missed Aidan's eighth birthday by just days, and his son had grown during the four months he'd been away, he could tell just by looking at his sleeping form, sprawled out across his bed. Aidan's hazel eyes were temporarily closed to the world, but his brown hair had grown as well, now nearly chin length. The boy didn't stir once in the ten minutes that his father stood watching him, lost somewhere in dreamland.

His twin daughters were asleep in the same bed, surrounded by several nightlights and a mountain of fierce-looking stuffed animals. They had turned four a week before he'd left, and Ashley swore to him that they were only plagued by nightmares when he was away. Andros decided against waking them up to reassure them; they looked peaceful enough, and he had no intentions of ever leaving them again.

Andros broke into a wide smile as he entered his own bedroom and saw Ashley curled up under the covers, sleeping in one of his red T-shirts, the sleeves falling to her elbows. He touched her cheek gently before heading into their bathroom, eager to wash the feel of the Megaship off of him. It was a comfortable enough place to live, but after nearly eight years away from it, he'd been left feeling like he'd been dumped in a hospital, or somewhere equally clean.

He showered quickly and pulled on his pajamas, tossing his flight suit carelessly into the laundry basket. Walking back into the bedroom where Ashley still slept, he knelt down by the bed, fully intent on kissing her awake. Andros brushed her lips gently with his own several times before Ashley even stirred. Slowly, she opened one sleepy eye, mumbling something unintelligible.

Andros laughed softly, sat back, and waited. A moment later, Ashley's eyes shot open again, and she threw herself out of the bed and into his arms, crying, "Andros!"

"Ash," he murmured, squeezing her hard. Ashley's arms had his neck nearly in a stranglehold, but he didn't mind. He'd missed her terribly in the last four months.

He kissed her and stood, easing her back into bed, wrapping his arms snugly around her waist.

"So how's everyone on Earth?" Ashley asked, leaning back against him, tilting her head to look at him.

"Fine," Andros answered, grinning as he captured her mouth with his own. "Can it wait until morning?"

"Oh?" Ashley smirked at him. "Did you have something else in mind?"

Andros smirked back at her, covering her lips with his own again. "Yes, you could say that."

"Do you... remember... the night... before you left?" Ashley asked him between kisses. Andros smiled innocently at her, and shook his head.

"Remind me?" he asked with a grin.

"Of course." The smile that was permanently fixated on Ashley's face grew even wider as she gave herself up to his touch, laughing with delight as he froze, his hands glued to her stomach.

"Ash?"

"Yes?" Ashley asked innocently, watching his shock melt into joy. "Is something wrong?"

"You little..." Andros couldn't think of anything with which to complete his sentence and instead asked, "How long have you known?"

"Months," Ashley said airily. "I wanted to surprise you... You're not mad, are you?"

Andros burst out laughing, leaning down to kiss her. "Are you just asking out of habit, or do you seriously think I'd even consider leaving you?"

"Of course I don't, silly." Ashley laughed softly, and touched his face lovingly, brushing a few strands of his blond-streaked brown hair out of the way, leaving her a good look at his hazel eyes. "I meant, are you mad that I didn't tell you?"

"Don't I look angry?" Andros demanded, lowering his head to place several soft kisses on her stomach. His damp hair fell forward, brushing against her skin. Ashley squirmed.

"That tickles."

"Oh, really?" Andros asked her, pinning her down, running his hands up and down her sides. Ashley shrieked with laughter and rolled away, but Andros moved more quickly, and Ashley found herself lying on top of him, his arms securely around her waist. She sighed happily and slipped her arms around his neck.

"I've missed you," she whispered, nuzzling her face into his neck. She felt Andros tighten his grip on her, echoing her words emphatically.

"Don't worry, Ash," he said softly. "It's done now, and there's nothing left out there that a normal team can't handle, and nothing that can make me leave you ever again."

"Promise?"

"I promise," Andros said solemnly, his hazel eyes shining at her as she rested her forehead on his. "Now... where were we?"

Ashley kissed him and grinned, completely losing herself in him as he rolled over on top of her, his arms still wrapped firmly around her. An hour later, when she finally fell asleep, it was with Andros's skin warm against hers, and his arms wrapped around her, but what she was most conscious of was the feeling of complete peace and security that she'd never once felt when he was away.

Fast asleep and content, neither Andros nor Ashley saw the seven figures that appeared at the end of the block and paced up and down before their house for hours until the sun slowly made it's way across the sky. As dawn broke, they scattered, knowing that they would soon return.

_A/N: This story wants a name! You don't really know enough about it to name it, but start giving me random titles anyway! Oh, and does anyone have a completely ridiculous name? Or just a long string of letters that's semi pronouncable? Please review._


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Aidan, Jenny, Marieke, Zora, and Kaden are mine. The rest belongs to Saban or Disney.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** If you used copy/paste to type out I love it! three times, that is very sad. So it's a good thing that you didn't. :P I don't think Rangering Never Leaves You is exactly right, but something along those lines. _

_**Mandy:** Thanks, here's more._

_**Juzblue:** Five children is a lot... I should give them that many... :P_

_**Mz. Daydream:** Nope, the seven people aren't evil. They'll be back later._

_**Jenny:** Twist of Fate would be a fitting title. Too bad it's taken. :P I can't use Marieke as one of the crazy names. You'll see why. :P Jenny's a good crazy name too. Can't use that one either. _

_**DizneeDol:** Thanks, here's some more._

Chapter 2

Ashley woke first, mischief sparking into her lively brown eyes as she glanced over her shoulder and saw that Andros was still fast asleep, his strong arms encircling her protectively. She rolled over, careful not to wake him, placing a feather light kiss on his lips. She'd barely felt it herself, but Andros responded instantly, his eyes flickering open as a slow smile spread across his face.

"I was sleeping," he mumbled, although his eyes were clear and alert. Ashley only laughed, and moved even closer to him. Instinctively, Andros tightened his embrace, silently repeating his vow never to leave his family again.

"We should get up now," Ashley said, sighing, thinking that she could stay here with him all day. She struggled out of his embrace and reached for some clothes. "The kids will be so excited you're back."

"I've missed them so much," Andros said, climbing out of bed as well. He dressed quickly and wrapped his arms around Ashley, resting one hand lightly on her stomach. "Do they know?"

She shook her head no. "I wasn't going to tell anyone before you."

"Should we tell them now?"

"Wait until Aidan gets home from school," Ashley warned him. "He'll already be too excited to concentrate."

She slipped her arm around his waist as they left their room. Andros draped an arm lightly over her shoulder in return, finding himself breathing more easily now that he was home. He took a seat at the kitchen table as Ashley fiddled with the Synthetron. Their kitchen had appliances that would be found on Earth as well, but they rarely had time for cooking, and most of the time, the Synthetron made perfectly good food, now that Deca wasn't the one controlling it.

A moment later, Andros stood up again. "Ash, do you want me to help?"

"Andros," Ashley said, sounding exasperated. "I'm not helpless... Ask again in about five months. Then you can do everything for me."

"Fair enough," Andros said with a grin as Ashley ordered enough pancakes for five people. "Am I allowed to spoil this baby now, or do I have to wait five months for that, too?"

Ashley considered and grinned, her eyes wide and innocent as she suggested, "You could always take us both shopping."

Andros laughed, and caught her by the wrist as she walked past him, pulling her into his lap for a moment. "How about today?"

"You must really be in a good mood," Ashley teased him, leaning her face against his. Andros shrugged his shoulders, releasing her. She stood up, and left the kitchen, walking, almost dancing, up the stairs to wake their children.

"Aidan," she whispered, brushing her son's hair out of his face as he groaned sleepily, and tried to shove her hand away. "Come on, wake up."

"Mom, do I have to?" he grumbled. Ashley smiled indulgently at him and nodded firmly.

"You have to," she said. "But there's a surprise downstairs for you."

Aidan's eyes cleared slightly, and he climbed out of bed with less reluctance than usual. "Do I have to share it with the twins?"

Ashley hid a smile. "Sorry, honey. Get dressed, and then go see."

Aidan sighed, but started digging through the pile of clothes on his floor for something 'clean.' Ashley shook her head and left the room, laughing softly when she saw her daughters.

Jenny's head was resting on the floor, the lower half of her still in bed. One hand was clutching a red teddy bear that was hanging off the side of the bed. Her other arm was flung across her sister's face. Marieke was seemingly oblivious to the fact, and still fast asleep.

"Wake up," Ashley whispered, wincing as Jenny opened her eyes and tumbled the rest of the way to the floor. "Are you all right?"

"Mommy, my head hurts," Jenny said.

"Tonight maybe you should sleep with your head on a pillow," Ashley suggested, lifting her up and setting her down on her feet. "If you sleep in your own bed, you'll have enough room."

"But the monster will get me," Jenny whined.

"There's a surprise downstairs," Ashley said, shaking Marieke half awake.

"Surprise?" Jenny shouted. "Do I have to share it with Aidan?"

Ashley rolled her eyes. "You'll see."

Marieke scrambled out of bed and raced after Jenny. Ashley sighed, and then shrugged. It was always a much better idea to have them change into their clothes after breakfast, instead of before. The twins might have looked like Andros, but they reminded her a great deal more of her brother-in-law than her husband, at least when it came to food fights.

By the time Ashley returned to the kitchen, there was a tall stack of pancakes in the middle of the table ignored by everyone in the room. Andros was holding the twins in his lap, and Aidan was tugging on his arm, trying to get his father's attention off of the twins.

"Aidan, eat," Andros told his son. "I'm not going anywhere, and you're going to be late for school."

"Do I have to go?"

"Yes," answered both Andros and Ashley.

"Haha," Jenny added. Aidan stuck his tongue out at her when Ashley turned around. Marieke laughed at him.

"Daddy saw that."

"Saw what?" Andros asked with a straight face. Aidan grinned, and began shoveling food into his mouth at an astonishing speed.

"Daddy has to eat too," Ashley said, pulling Jenny off of his lap as Marieke climbed down on her own.

"Especially if I'm taking you shopping," Andros said just loudly enough for Aidan to hear him. He snorted into in juice, still laughing as Ashley handed him a napkin.

"What did you say?"

"Oh, nothing." Andros smiled innocently at her. "When are we going shopping?"

"As soon as you tell me everything about everyone," Ashley told him. His grin widened at that.

"Everything about everyone?" he said thoughtfully. "We might not have time to go anywhere after all."

"Yes, we will," Ashley said decisively. "You can talk at the mall."

"Uncle Zhane!" Aidan shouted.

"Hey, you're back," the blond man said by way of greeting, giving him a quick hug. "Earth still there?"

"Serpenterra's gone," Andros confirmed. "And the red rangers that came after us will keep the planet there."

"We were still the best team," Ashley said with a smile, recalling their ranger days fondly.

"I agree," Zhane said. "You ready to go, Aidan?"

"Yup," the boy said, shoving his plate back and standing up.

"Go on, then," Zhane said. "Zora's already in the car."

"How'd you end up driving them?" Andros asked curiously, watching as Aidan disappeared out the door.

"Well, right after you left, your wife decided it was too much trouble for her to drive them, and your sister decided that she doesn't trust me alone with Kaden," Zhane said, shooting a mock glare, and a half-hearted one at that, at Ashley, who smiled sweetly. "So I ended up being a chauffer."

"I get carsick."

"Since when do you get carsick?" Zhane demanded.

"Since I got pregnant," Ashley said innocently.

"What?" Zhane exclaimed. "Again?"

"Thanks, Zhane."

"Just kidding," Zhane said hastily, reaching past Andros to hug her. "Congratulations."

"Much better," Ashley said, satisfied.

"Will you be going to work?" Zhane asked Andros.

"Not today," he said. "Tomorrow, if I have to."

"You'd better," Zhane said seriously.

"There's nothing wrong, is there?"

"Tykwa's been worried about something," Zhane admitted. "But no, there's nothing wrong, not yet."

"I'll go tomorrow, then," Andros decided with a sigh. He'd wanted to spend much more time with his family, but if there was trouble, he wouldn't stay away and put the safety of those he loved in someone else's hands.

"Well, I've got to get Zora and Aidan to school," Zhane said. "See ya."

"Bye," Ashley said. Andros echoed her words, wondering what was going on.

"Mommy, I'm done," Marieke said.

"Okay," Ashley said, taking her plate, and then Jenny's. "You two go get dressed, and then Daddy can tell us all about Earth."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Aidan, Jenny, Marieke, Zora, Kaden, Chandra, TJ Junior, Diego, and Murchadh are mine. Aura is Starhawk's. The rest is owned by Saban or Disney.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Yes, I see all the trouble you go through. :P Stupid mosquitos. _

_**Juzblue:** Thanks. Jenny made me laugh, too. :P_

_**Jn Cpl Scarlett: **Thanks. Nothing too drastic, but there's something. _

_**DizneeDol:** I totally did update real soon. Here's more. :P_

_**Mz. Daydream:**Thanks. It's so much fun to see Andros with his kids. _

_**Jenny:** You've pretty much got the twins personalities down. If you don't like them, I let Marieke choose who was who. :P_

_**Melissa:** Yup, twins again. And I own Jenny and Marieke:P_

Chapter 3

"All right," Andros said, settling himself comfortably on the couch. "What do you want to hear about first?"

"How's Cassie doing?" Ashley asked, a wistful look on her face as she sat down on the couch lengthwise, her feet ending up in Andros's lap. "It's been so long since we've seen them..."

"I left as soon as I could," Andros said, "so I didn't have much of a chance to talk with her, but TJ said that she, Chandra, and TJ Junior are all doing fine. TJ said that they'll start TJ Junior in preschool next year."

"Sometimes I wish KO-35 had preschool," Ashley murmured as Jenny scrambled into her lap. She moved her feet off of Andros as Marieke climbed up into his arms. "Chandra's walking now, right?"

"For almost a year now," Andros said.

"It's been that long since we've last seen them?" Ashley said, a sad look creeping up onto her face. "We used to be so close, all of us..."

"We still are, Ash," Andros said softly, reaching out to squeeze her hand for a moment. He leaned back again as he added, "We just live farther apart."

"I miss them," Ashley said simply.

"This was supposed to be a surprise," Andros said, suddenly looking sheepish, "but you look like you could use some cheering up, so I invited them all to come visit us."

"You did?" Ashley's eyes lit up. She leaned over Jenny and Marieke to wrap her arms around his neck. "Thank you."

"And not just TJ and Cassie, either," Andros continued. "Carlos, Aura, Diego, and Murchadh."

"Is Uncle TJ coming to visit?" Jenny asked.

"Yes he is," Andros told her. "And Aunt Cassie, Uncle Carlos, and Aunt Aura, and all of your cousins."

"There's only three of them," Jenny protested. "That's not that many."

"What about Zora and Kaden?"

"But they're our real cousins," Jenny said. "That's different."

"When are they coming?" Marieke asked.

"Well..." Andros glanced at Ashley. "They can come whenever you want, if you feel up to it."

"Andros, I feel fine," Ashley assured him good-naturedly. "Just as long as they're not here right before I have the baby."

"What baby?" Marieke asked.

"Oh," Ashley said, grinning. "I guess we can tell Aidan later."

"You're having a baby?" Jenny asked.

"Yes." Ashley nodded. "You girls and Aidan are going to have a baby brother or sister."

"I want a sister," Marieke said immediately, and Andros laughed.

"Mommy doesn't get to choose," he explained. "It could be a boy."

"But it's a girl," Marieke said stubbornly.

Ashley laughed. "You can't argue with her," she said. "She takes after you."

"When will the baby be here?" Jenny asked.

"In about five months," Ashley said, taking Jenny's hand and placing it on her stomach. "Until then, the baby lives inside here."

"It's inside of you?" Jenny asked. Ashley nodded, and Jenny's eyes widened.

"Can I name the baby?" Marieke asked.

"Uh..." Ashley glanced at Andros, hoping he'd come up with an answer more quickly than she, but he only shrugged at her. "You can help, but Daddy and I get to choose."

"Naming a baby is something that you have to think about for a long time," Andros told her, finally thinking of something to say, and added, "You can help shop for the baby, though."

Ashley shot Andros a grateful look as he succeeded in changing the topic. "We'll go right now, as soon as you girls are ready."

"Can I get new shoes?" Jenny asked.

"Jenny, we're shopping for the baby," Ashley said. "Daddy doesn't want to go shoe shopping."

"Says who?" Andros demanded, glancing down at the girl in his lap. "Marieke, do you want shoes, too?"

She nodded instantly. "Can I get the pretty shiny ones with glitter?"

"No glitter," Andros said firmly. "But pretty and shiny is fine."

"Zora gets glitter shoes."

"And Aunt Karone has magic to clean up all the glitter," Andros reminded her. "Go get ready."

"Okay," Marieke said. She paused and looked at her twin. "Jenny, where are my shoes?"

"They'll be down sometime in the next century," Ashley remarked, sighing lazily as their daughters disappeared up the stairs. "Andros, you hate shopping."

"I know," Andros said, sighing heavily. "But I love all of you."

Ashley smiled and twisted around so she was leaning back against him instead of the arm of the couch. "We love you too."

"So what do we need for the baby?" Andros asked. "We've got to have some stuff left over from Aidan and the twins."

"We've still got the cribs," Ashley said. "And the high chairs, I think. And enough stuffed animals to bury the poor kid under."

"What about clothes?" Andros asked.

"Well..." Ashley tilted her head back to look at him. "You can never have too many clothes."

Andros tried hard to turn his smile into something else, but couldn't quite manage it. "Don't we need to know whether it's a boy or a girl before you buy an entire wardrobe?"

"Just a few things," Ashley pleaded. "You wouldn't want your child to be naked for the first week of its life, would you?"

"It wouldn't be naked," Andros protested indignantly. "I'd give it a blanket."

"Much better," Ashley teased him. "They make stuff that both boys and girls can wear, you know."

"I know," Andros said. "How about just half a wardrobe?"

"The red half or the yellow half?" Ashley asked with a knowing grin.

Andros laughed. "Do we do it on purpose, or do they just look just in our colors?"

"Both, I think," Ashley said. "All ranger kids do, no matter how many colors their parents wore."

"We're ready!" Marieke announced, her blond-streaked brown hair flying out as she jumped the last five steps to the ground, followed immediately by Jenny.

"Careful," Ashley warned. "We don't have time to go to both the hospital and the mall."

"The hospital smells funny," Jenny said, wrinkling her nose. "I don't want to go there."

"Then let's go buy clothes for your baby brother or sister."

"Our sister," Marieke said firmly.

"And don't forget shoes," Jenny added.

"Come on," Andros said, taking the twins by the hand and leading them to the hovercar as Ashley locked the door. "Let's go."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer:I own the Overlords and the seven people. The rest is the property of Saban or Disney.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Yup, you and Jenny have Andros's hair. I told you that already... The baby has to be a girl, but you know that too... Darn, I can't think of anything else to say. You and Jenny are identical twins! I didn't say that before! HA:P_

_**Juzblue:** I have no idea how to say the name. I just thought it looked cute._

_**Arwennicole:** Thanks. I skipped Aidan's reaction, so assume he reacted well._

_**Jenny:** Yup. Marieke wants a sister, and Jenny wants shoes. Which would you rather have?_

_**DizneeDol:** Thanks, here's more. :P_

_**Mz. Daydream: **Thanks. _

Chapter 4

Andros opened one sleepy eye as the com signal beeped loudly in the dark room. He sighed and dragged himself out of bed as Ashley groaned, her head disappearing under the pillow.

"I'll get it," he said unnecessarily, stumbling to the device mounted in their bedroom wall. He hit the button and watched as Tykwa's face materialized on screen. "What's the matter?"

"I'm sorry to disturb you so early in the morning," she said apologetically. "But I need to meet with you, Ashley, Zhane, and Karone as soon as possible."

"It can't wait until Monday?"

"I'm afraid not," Tykwa said. "It must be today."

"Can it wait at least a few more hours?"

"I suppose so," Tykwa said. "They're still sleeping, after all."

"Who's still sleeping?" Andros asked, yawning hugely.

"There are some people that you need to meet," Tykwa informed him. "I'll see you in four hours."

She cut the link from her end, and the screen faded to black. Andros sighed heavily and crawled back into his warm bed, lifting the pillow off of Ashley's head. "Did you hear all that?"

"Mmm," Ashley said, her eyes still closed. Andros sighed, and shook her awake. She opened her eyes blearily, glaring at him. "What?"

"Sorry," he whispered. "That was Tykwa on the com. We're supposed to meet her in four hours."

Ashley mumbled something unintelligible that Andros took as "What's the matter?"

"She said that there were some people that we needed to meet," Andros said

"It's still dark," Ashley protested. "What time is it?"

"Four in the morning," Andros said. He brushed some hair out of her eyes and whispered, "Go back to sleep. I'll wake you up in three hours."

"Thanks," Ashley muttered, here eyes closing again. Andros kissed her and pulled her close before falling back asleep himself.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Four hours later**

"All right, we're here," Andros said wearily as he, Ashley, Karone, and Zhane sank into seats in Tykwa's office. "What's so important?"

"Are you familiar with the Overlords?" Tykwa inquired, brushing a few strand of her hair out of her eyes distractedly, looking completely exhausted.

"The Overlords?" Karone repeated. "Were they the ones who took over Onyx?"

"Yes," Tykwa said tiredly. "That was them. At first, we paid no attention to them; Onyx is forever changing hands, and that fact distracts them from setting their sights on Karova. Things have changed. The Overlords completely control Onyx, and have begun expanding their empire."

"And they're heading towards us?" Ashley guessed. Tykwa nodded.

"It looks like they're trying to sweep their way across the universe," she informed them. "Fortunately for us, they started on the far side. That gives us time to defend ourselves. It's too late for the worlds that they've conquered, but there's still a chance for us."

"Tykwa," Andros interrupted. "Are you talking about rangers?"

"I am," Tykwa confirmed. A wan smile appeared on her weary face as she took in their expressions. "Don't worry, I wasn't talking about you."

"It's not that we don't want to," Zhane said hastily. "It's just that..."

"Our team is scattered," Ashley put in when he stalled. "And there's no one else that we could fight as well with."

"I understand," Tykwa said. "We have time still; they won't attack while Kin Won still lives."

"He's not dying?" Andros asked sharply.

"No, nothing like that," Tykwa sighed. "He's just too old for this. He wanted to be here himself, but his doctor wouldn't allow it."

A brief silence followed her words. Kin Won had been far from a young man when KO-35 was evacuated, and now, nearly eleven years later, his body was beginning to fail, if not his mind. Under his leadership, KO-35 held strong, but when he was no longer around to hold the colony together, trouble would arise.

"But we can't dwell on that now," Tykwa continued. "We need to focus on defending ourselves. As the Astro Rangers, and the pink Galaxy Ranger, you four are are owed a great debt by the free people of the universe, and I am here to ask you to make that debt a little greater."

"Tykwa," Zhane sighed. "Eloquent isn't your style. What do you want?"

"I am here to ask you, and whichever of your former teammates are willing, to train a new team to take your places," Tykwa told them. "You were all extraordinary rangers, and whatever you can teach them will make them stronger. Please."

"Who are they?" Karone asked. "You're talking like you know who they are."

"I do," Tykwa said. "Excuse me for a minute."

She stood and left the room through the doors. Andros let out a deep breath and turned so he was facing everyone else. "We can't say no, can we?"

"I don't want to say no," Ashley said firmly. "When we're needed, we help in whatever way we can. We're still rangers, Andros, even if we're not fighting. We'll always be rangers. The others will see it that way, too."

"Fine, be the responsible one," Zhane grumbled. Karone jabbed him in the ribs. "Just kidding! You know I'm in."

"Karone?"

The blond woman nodded silently, her blue eyes clouding for a moment. Zhane saw it, and wrapped his arms around his wife.

"You've got nothing to make up for," he said sternly. "You hear me? Nothing. Astronema's long gone, and you've been a ranger."

Karone nodded again, smiling slightly, and Zhane sighed with relief.

"Ash, are you sure you should be training someone right now?" Andros asked, placing a hand on her stomach. Ashley nodded stubbornly, but placed her hand over his to reassure him.

"As long as I don't spar with anyone," she said. "It's sweet of you to worry, but don't, I'll be fine."

Andros smiled at her, comforted by her determination. "I love you, Ash. Just promise me you'll be careful."

"I promise," Ashley repeated. "Don't worry about me, Andros. I'll be all right."

Tykwa returned then, leading a group of seven unfamiliar teenagers behind her. Andros's mind strayed to the purple Astro morpher that Karone had never used. How had Tykwa known to choose seven?

"These seven fled the Overlords," she explained. "They came to Karova with warnings three days ago, and the Power responds to them as readily as it did to you. Get acquainted with each other before you make a decision, but remember that there isn't an unlimited amount of time."

With that, she left the room again, leaving Andros, Ashley, Zhane, and Karone alone with the seven who were to take their place.

**A/N:** **I got nominated at the Guardians of Earth awards! For Best Unique Author and Best Sequel for Unsealed Fate. So if you want to vote for me (and of course you do :P) go to www(dot)geocities(dot)com(slash)guardiansawards(slash)**

**index(dot)html. If you were the one who nominated me, I love you. **


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I own Ryan, Tempest, Melanie, Ciaran, Mira, Matt, Damien, Cerys and the Overlords. Aura is Starhawk's. The rest is Saban or Disney's.

_**darklover:** Thanks. Here's more._

_**Juzblue:** Thanks._

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Sorry, not happening. I already picked the name and everything. Maybe next story. :P_

_**Andros n Ashley fan: **I'm so glad you like my Ashley. I was worried I was making her too weak._

_**DizneeDol:** Thanks. Andros is so sweet. Here's more._

_**C.C.C: **Thanks. I'm working on the next chapter for Mirror, Mirror. I just haven't finished it. What I need now is a title for this one, if you've got any suggestions. :P_

_**Jenny:** Thanks... Yes, I do know. :P Yes, I will vote for you. Yay, you're updating. I will put more Marieke and Jenny in here, but you'll have to wait a chapter or two. :P_

_**Mz. Daydream:** Thanks. I love making Andros sweet. It's so much fun. Almost as much fun as torturing him. :P_

Chapter 5

"I'm Ashley," the former yellow Astro ranger introduced herself, smiling brightly at the wary faces that stared back at her. "I was the yellow ranger. This is my husband, Andros, the red ranger, his sister Karone, the pink ranger of the Lost Galaxy, and her husband Zhane, the silver ranger."

"My name is Ryan." The oldest-looking of the group spoke first, his voice quiet. Ryan looked to be in his late teens or very early twenties. His eyes were a warm brown that gave him an aura of cheerfulness despite his otherwise grave expression. Hair the color of yellow straw covered his head, cut short. His nose had a slightly squashed look to it, as though someone had tried to flatten it to his face.

"Have you ever been trained to fight before?" Andros asked, taking in Ryan's faded red shirt. So this is who would take his place.

"Auntie taught all of us," another voice said sadly. "She raised us, and kept us safe from the Overlords until they came for her. We wanted to go after her, but she sent us here instead."

"Tem, shut up," the boy in black hissed. "He wasn't talking to you."

"No, it's okay," Ashley said, taking an immediate liking to the girl in yellow who had spoken. "What's your name?"

"I'm Tempest," she said shyly, but her bright brown eyes sparkled as she spoke, and she held her head high. If the seven looked close enough to their actual ages, she was by far the youngest, about thirteen or fourteen, certainly no older than fifteen. Dark red curls pulled back into a half ponytail spilled over her shoulders, cascading halfway down her back.

"That's a beautiful name," Ashley said, smiling. "How old are you?"

"Fourteen," Tempest replied. "And I only look small."

"Trust us on that one," the girl clad in pink assured them wryly. "We've never meet anyone more stubborn than our little sister... I'm Melanie."

"Auntie raised us to be brothers and sisters," Tempest explained, seeing their looks. "If any of us are actually related, that was something she forgot to mention."

That fact was obvious enough. Tempest had the build and complexion of a porcelain doll, while Melanie was tall and willowy, with light brown skin and shining black eyes. Dark hair fell in ringlets to her shoulders.

Karone stepped forward. "I'm Karone," she said. "I'll work with you until Cassie can get here... and you too," she added, her eyes falling on the girl dressed in several shades of purple, the oldest of the three girls, in her late teens.

"I'm Mira," she said, shaking her dirty blond hair out of her eyes as she spoke, giving them all a clear view of her piercing sapphire eyes.

"Ciaran," said the boy in blue. His skin was a few shades darker than Melanie's, and his black eyes glittered at them. He was tall, his voice deep and graver than Ryan's, but the somber expression somehow seemed an ill fit for him.

The boy in silver introduced himself as Matt. His sandy hair was longish and shaggy, falling to his shoulders. His eyes were a pale blue, almost gray, and his skin was a deep tan. Ashley thought he'd be right at home in Angel Grove during the summertime.

"I'm Damien," the boy in black said. He was tanned darker than Matt, with dark brown hair that tinted red under the right light, as it was doing now. He kept his deep brown eyes trained onto the floor.

"It's nice to meet you all," Andros said. "I think we should begin your training as soon as possible, if you accept the morphers."

"We accept," Ryan said instantly, speaking for the seven of them. "Does that mean we start now?"

"Tomorrow," Andros said. "That will give us enough time to figure out where to start, and to speak to the other rangers... former rangers," he added as an afterthought.

"Do any of you need a place to stay?" Ashley put in. "Living here can't be fun."

Damien elbowed Tempest in the ribs as she opened her mouth. She elbowed him back, hard, from the way he winced. "You could find us a place?"

"You can stay with us, if you need to," Ashley said. "Once we get the others here, you can stay on the Megaship, if Deca likes you."

"Yeah," Zhane agreed. "Good idea, Ash."

"We'll take half of you tonight," Karone said. "The other half of you go with Andros and Ashley, until Alpha and Deca round up TJ, Cassie, Carlos... and Aura was a ranger too," she added with a smile. "We'll get you guys in really good shape."

"That's very nice of you," Melanie said. "Thank you."

"First lesson," Karone said with a grin. "Rangers take care of each other."

"Rangers," Melanie repeated. "That's us now, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Ashley said. "Come on, let's get you guys out of here. Do you have anything you want to take with you?"

"We left everything behind," Ryan said. "There wasn't time..."

"If you need anything, we'll find it for you," Karone assured him. "Let's see... Ryan and Tempest go with Andros and Ashley. Matt and Mira, you'll come with Zhane and me. If any of you don't want to be split up, that's fine, but we've all got this weird attatchment to our colors."

"It's fine," Mira said.

"Good," Ashley said. "Then Damien'll come with us too, and Karone and Zhane can take Ciaran and Melanie."

"Now let's go," Zhane said firmly. "I don't want to have to pay Cerys extra to babysit."

"Neither do I," Ashley said. "Come on."

The seven allowed themselves to be sheparded out of the building without complaint. When ushered into the two hovercars, Ashley saw expressions of awe on their faces, and wondered how hard their lives had been for what she now considered ordinary to appear so spectacular to these Astro Rangers.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I own Tempest, Ryan, Damien, Aidan, Jenny, and Marieke. Aura is Starhawk's. The rest is the property of Saban or Disney.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: **You wanna like Tempest the best? Okay, I'll see what I can do... Oh, this is going to be fun:P_

_**Mz. Daydream:** Yeah, I made them all brothers and sisters. I don't remember why, but I think I had a reason for it. I'm okay on Mirror, Mirror for now, I just haven't had time to work on it much. I know what you mean, the Astro Rangers should be proud of themselves, too. :P_

_**Juzblue:** Thanks. You'll be seeing a lot of these rangers, and don't worry, you can love them, I promise I won't kill them off. :P_

_**the-power-of-love:** Thanks. Here's some more._

_**DizneeDol:** Thanks. _

_**Jenny:** Keep breathing. That's a good thing to do. Especially if you're going to finish Forever Light someday... Of course I voted for you! Here's more, so you'd better be hard at work on the story. :P_

Chapter 6

"Sorry, you guys," Ashley said apologetically as she unlocked their front door. "We've only got one extra room, so unless one of you wants to share with the kids, you'll all be in there together."

"We don't mind," Ryan said. "Auntie only had two bedrooms for the seven of us. We're used to it."

"If that's what you want," Ashley said, leading them into the kitchen. "Feel free to eat whenever you like. The Synthetron's in that corner, or you could experiment with the stove, if you don't burn the place down."

"We'll stick to the Synthetron," Ryan said quickly, shooting a warning glance at Tempest, who only grinned innocently.

"The spare bedroom is upstairs," Ashley said, motioning for them to follow her as she continued the tour. Obediantly, they trooped up the stairs, and down the hallway that held Aidan and the twins rooms to the bedroom that was currently a guestroom but would become a nursery soon. "Here you go."

"Thanks," Ryan said, stepping into it. There were only two beds, but Ashley assured them that there would soon be a cot in there.

"Mom!" Aidan shouted, rushing up to Ashley. "What's going on? Who're they?"

"These are the Power Rangers," Ashley said, wrapping the boy in a hug despite his efforts to inch away.

"I thought you and Dad were the Power Rangers," Aidan said, eyeing the strangers warily. "What happened?"

"Aidan, you know I can't fight anymore," Ashley reminded him. "And with Aunt Cassie and the others living on different planets, Dad and Aunt Karone and Uncle Zhane decided that they didn't want to fight with four people that they didn't know. Besides, this is what Tykwa wants."

"But Mom -"

"Mommy!"

"Jenny!" Ashley exclaimed, scooping her daughter up in her arms. "Were you a good girl at Cerys's?"

"Uh-huh," Jenny said, nodding convincingly for good measure. "I didn't even call Aidan any names."

"You didn't?" Ashley repeated. "That's **very** good of you... Jenny, say hi to these people. This is Ryan, Damien, and Tempest."

"Hi," Jenny whispered, struck shy for one of the first times in her four years. She looked away, hiding her face in her mother's neck as her sister walked up to the three unfamiliar people bravely. For a moment, Ashley wondered if she had the wrong twin. Jenny was the wilder, outgoiong of the two, while Marieke was the quiet, sweeter one.

"My name's Marieke," said the twin on the floor, dispelling Ashley's doubts as she reached for the hand of the redheaded girl, completely ignoring the red and black rangers. "Come see my room. I have to share it with Jenny, but you can stay there too."

Ashley stifled a laugh as the yellow ranger was led away. Jenny struggled out of her arms and ran after her sister, who was contemplating all the possible ways to adopt Tempest. "Looks like Marieke found a big sister."

"Looks like Tempest found a younger one," Ryan replied, amused. "This'll be interesting..."

"She can keep her," Aidan muttered. "And she can have Jenny too!"

"Aidan," Ashley said sternly. Her son pouted at her, and shrugged.

"You should love your sisters," Ryan said suddenly, bending down to look the boy in the eye. "You might not always have them."

"Are you the new red ranger?" Aidan asked, glaring at the young man in front of him. Ryan nodded, and Aidan's glare grew even stronger. "I'm supposed to be the red ranger!" he shouted, and tore off down the hall.

"Aidan!" Ashley exclaimed, but the boy slammed shut his bedroom door. Ashley sighed, deciding to leave him alone to cool off. Sighing, she turned to Ryan. "Sorry..."

"Nah, it's okay," Damien said. "We've said much worse to him."

"They have," Ryan assured her. "It's all right."

"TJ and Cassie will be here in the morning," Andros announced, joining them in the hall, his arm automatically going around Ashley's shoulders. "Carlos and Aura too."

"I can't wait to see them," Ashley said, eagerness in her eyes. "Even if this isn't exactly the vacation they had planned."

"We won't be working the entire day," Andros reminded her. "You'll still have time to catch up with Cassie."

"I know," Ashley said. "You'll be working mostly with Carlos, Damien, and maybe Aura."

Damien stifled a yawn. "Sorry."

"Sleep," Ashley said firmly, pointing to the room behind them. "You'll need it, trust me."

"Ash, can I talk to you?" Andros asked, pulling her down the stairs to the couch.

"All right, what's wrong?" Ashley demanded, making herself comfortable.

"We're alone down here, right?" Andros asked softly.

Ashley shrugged. "Ryan and Damien are sleeping. The twins stole Tempest, and Aidan's sulking, so pretty alone. Why?"

"I heard what Aidan said to Ryan earlier," Andros said, suddenly looking guilty.

"You didn't tell him that he'd be the red ranger, did you?" Ashley asked, groaning inwardly.

"No," Andros said quickly. "I said maybe, but I think he took that as a yes."

"It's all right," Ashley said with a sigh. "He'll get over it... What's bothering you?"

Andros hesitated. "It's really nothing," he admitted. "I just wanted to know how you felt."

"About what?" Ashley prodded gently as he stalled.

"It's stupid, really," he muttered. "But everything that was ours doesn't belong to us anymore."

Ashley sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck. "It's not stupid," she said. "But if you're feeling all this resentment, it's not going to help when you're trying to train them."

"It's not resentment," Andros assured her. "It's just that... the Astro morphers were ours. The Megaship is ours. It was my home for three years."

"Andros?" Ashley said. "That's called resentment. It's not even the same Megaship, remember?"

"It looks the same," Andros muttered, crossing his arms over his chest and staring hard at a nonexistent spot on the wall as Ashley laughed softly. She must have seen the look on his face, and quickly apologized.

"For what it's worth, I feel the same," she added softly, slipping on of her hands under his elbow to clasp his hand. "But Andros... there's nothing that we can really do about it."

"I know." Andros sighed but gave her a slight smile and pulled her into his arms. Ashley relaxed against his chest, her head leaning against his neck as Andros rested his hands on her stomach, feeling for the child sleeping inside of her. "I've got nothing against them, and I promise, I won't act resentful. I just need a few days to get used to it."

"You'd better get used to it fast, though," Ashley said, squeezing his hand.

"Ash?" Andros asked hesitantly. "What exactly are we supposed to do with them?"

"See what they can do, and then help them," Ashley said, shifting slightly to face him. "It was different for us... we were already rangers when you gave us the morphers, but it still took some getting used to. If the Overlords are as bad as Tykwa says they are, we want them used to it way before they actually are expected to fight."

"Do you think we can actually do this?"

"Andros, it can't be any harder than being rangers ourselves," Ashley pointed out. "Don't worry, we'll be fine, and so will they. Ryan will be a good leader. He's even a little like you, back when you were too serious."

"Back when you thought I was a lizard, you mean," Andros corrected her, watching as Ashley's cheeks darkened to match the bright red T-shirt he was wearing.

"See?" Ashley said. "You've changed a lot... I like you better this way."

"You'd better," Andros said, pulling her close enough to kiss her gently. "You're stuck with it."

"Fine with me," Ashley said, settling back into his arms. "I don't mind."


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Tempest, Ryan, Ciaran, Melanie, Mira, Matt, Damien, Aidan, Jenny, Marieke, Aidan, Chandra, TJ Junior, Diego, and Murchadh are mine. Aura is Starhawk's. The rest is the property of Saban or Disney.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Duh, Ashley doesn't mind! I just liked ending the chapter like that. If you want the brother, you'd better name him for me. The girl is not a brat! She's sweet. Or, if you really don't want her to be born, Ashley can miscarry instead of going into labor dangerously early. Oh yeah, this story stops being fluffy right around now. :P I kinda need that baby, though._

_**Juzblue:** Yes, they'll all live. The rangers at least... Just kidding:P_

_**the-power-of-love:** Thanks, here's more._

_**Jenny:** Thanks. Here's more. But you better babble sometime soon:P_

_**Mz. Daydream:** Yeah, Andros and Ashley have the perfect relationship... at least in this story. :P_

Chapter 7

"So what do you guys think?" Ryan asked, casting a furtive glance at each of his teammates. "We chose right, didn't we?"

"Of course we did," Tempest said, rolling her eyes. She fingered the morpher attatched to her left wrist. "Even if you didn't, I did."

"I agree," Ciaran said. "This is something that we gotta do, for us, and for Auntie."

"You guys don't think that she could still be alive, do you?" Melanie asked anxiously. "I mean, I know it looked bad when we left, but..."

"I don't see how she could be," Matt said with a heavy sigh. "She was up against three of them. Skylar, Spyridon and Ximena are the Overlords' greatest accomplishment."

"But-" Melanie said weakly, and sighed. There was no use in wishing for what would never be.

"We will remember her," Mira said solemnly. "There's nothing else that we can do for her."

"We can fight for her," Damien suggested quietly.

"Yeah," Tempest agreed, her brown eyes turning fiery. "She wanted us to do this. You know she did. It's why she bought us time to escape, to come here."

"Do you guys think that maybe we should tell-"

"No!" Ciaran cut off Mira before she'd finished her question. "You know what Auntie said."

"Right," Mira said uneasily. "But I like Karone. I like all of them, and they trust us."

"So did Auntie," Ryan reminded her.

"But Ryan," Tempest began. "Andros and Ashley have been so nice to us. I don't like lying."

"We're not lying," Ryan insisted. "Everything we've told them has been the truth."

"We just left out certain parts," Tempest muttered.

"They don't need to know that," Damien broke in. "We're all on the same side."

"But they don't know that," Mira protested. "If they find out, they'll take away the morphers, and then-"

"That's why we're not going to tell them," Melanie said, although she didn't look convinced. "We can keep secrets. We've been doing it our entire lives."

"But it's not right," Tempest protested.

"Lots of things aren't right," Ryan snapped. "You're the baby here, Tem, and I've seen a lot more than you. I even remember what things were like, before. There are worse things than telling a few little lies."

"I've gotta disagree with you there, Ry," Matt said, his shaggy hair falling in front of his eyes.

"Don't call me Ry!" the red ranger snapped as Tempest stifled a snort of laughter.

"Hey, everybody!"

The seven whirled around, wondering how much of their conversation the newcomer had heard. From the friendly smile on the blue-clad man's face, that would be none of it, and they all relaxed slightly. He was followed in by Andros, Ashley, Zhane, Karone, and a man and two women who were unfamilar, as well as several children.

"I'm TJ," he introduced himself, offering Ciaran a dark hand to shake. "So you're the guy who stole my spot."

"I...uh..."

"Kidding," TJ broke in. "You gotta learn to lighten up a little, or else you'll never survive... This is my wife, Cassie."

"Hi," Melanie said shyly to the woman in pink. "My name's Melanie."

"I'm Cassie," the former pink ranger replied.

"I'm Carlos," said the man with dark tan skin and black eyes.

"And I'm Aura," said the woman in red. The four just introduced looked nothing alike, but Aura was the only one who looked not quite human. She must have caught their looks, and added, "I'm an Aquitan."

"I've always wanted to go there," Damien exclaimed. "I love the water."

"So now that you've met the rangers," Zhane broke in, "now you've got to meet all the children of the rangers. You know Zora, Kaden, Jenny, Marieke, and Aidan, but these four have got some for you to meet. If you don't work hard enough, you baby sit. And you don't want to do that."

"I'll have you know that my children are better than yours," Cassie informed him with a serious grin. "Chandra, come say hi."

"Hi," the little girl whispered.

Cassie rolled her eyes. "TJ, how about you?"

"I already said hi," TJ protested, laughing as Cassie glared at him.

"I meant the baby!"

"Hi!" TJ Junior shouted, waving one of his arms wildly at the new rangers.

"This is Murchadh," Aura said, leading the eldest of the two boys hiding behind her and Carlos forward. "And this is Diego."

"Hello," Murchadh said obediently. Diego waved.

"All right," Andros said, his voice unusually serious. "You'll have time to talk with each other, but in two hours, I'd like to get started."

"Of course," Ryan agreed. "We'll be ready."

"Okay, let's get to know each other fast," TJ said. "We've got lots of work to do."

_A/N: Sorry it's so short, but I probably won't be updating for a few days, so it's all you're going to get for awhile. I'm still taking suggestions for a title, if you've got any. Even if you don't, please review. :P_


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Skylar, Ximena, and Spyridon are mine. If I haven't told you already that it's mine, then it belongs to Saban or Disney.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** You do not need to go to school! You need to sit in front of a computer all day and write a really long review! Wait, I wanna do that. Okay, you spend all day writing a review for my chapter, and I'll spend all day writing one for yours, and we'll never go to school again:P_

_**Juzblue:** Yes, they're hiding something. Sorta. You'll see. :P_

_**Mz. Daydream:** If you're guess if WAY off, then it's probably right. :P_

_**C.C.C: **It's okay! You don't need to review every chapter. It's all right if you can't think of a title, either. I mean, it's my story, and I know what happens, and I don't know what to call it..._

_**the-power-of-love:** Thanks, here's more. _

_**DizneeDol:** I probably left you hanging, but here's some more. :P_

_**Jenny:**It's okay, you can babble later._

Chapter 8

Tempest dropped to the floor to avoid a hurricane kick, sweeping her leg around, knocking Aura off balance. The red Aquitan ranger had opted to take Ashley's place during the sparring match, and was surprised to find herself evenly matched with this child.

Aura flipped herself over in midair and came back with a hook kick much faster than her hurricane kick had been. Tempest dodged it again, but it was a much closer call this time. As Tempest recovered, Aura's uppercut connected, subduing the girl enough for Aura to declare victory.

"That was well done," Aura complimented her as Tempest scrambled to her feet, her face flushed from the excersize.

"Thanks," she gasped, gulping down the water Damien handed her.

"You guys all did great," Ashley said. She'd been standing on the sidelines, carefully observing each move that they made. "Next time, you'll fight seven against seven. It'll teach you to watch each other's backs almost every moment of the fight."

"Every moment?" Melanie repeated.

Ashley nodded. "It only takes a few seconds for something to happen. That's all the time that the Overlords will need to take one of you down."

"Guard each other better than you guard yourselves," Andros told them quietly. "If you've never seen someone you care about nearly killed, then you probably can't understand what I'm saying. The important thing is to take care of each other, no matter what."

Ashley saw her husband's eyes drift to Zhane, and then herself, and she saw a trace of the guilt that still haunted him. Andros had never truly forgiven himself for Zhane's near death on KO-35, and Ashley was suddenly tremendously thankful that she had never been hurt too badly. She would have hated to see what Andros would have done to himself then.

"Stop simulation," TJ said. Green gridlines appeared, and then the Simudeck returned its resting state. "Hit the showers, everyone."

"So what do you think?" Ashley asked as the next generation of rangers cleared the Simudeck.

"Not bad," Andros admitted with a rueful grin. "But not us, either."

"Give em some time," Carlos protested. "They've been rangers for all of, what, two hours?"

"That's not the point," Andros said. "They'll have more time. Tykwa said that the Overlords are on the other side of the galaxy."

"What'd you do to him, Ash?" Cassie asked with a grin. "Andros isn't forcing them to train twenty hours a day, like he did with us."

"It wasn't twenty hours a day," Andros protested. "Besides, you guys needed the practice."

"Oh really?" TJ smirked at him. "I seem to remember you losing every sparring match to a certain yellow ranger."

"I could say the same to you," Andros retorted. "And I did win half the time."

"Once," Ashley corrected him with a grin. Andros made a face at her, and she laughed, moving to wrap her arms around his neck. "All right, twice."

"I think you guys need a rematch," Zhane said. He smiled innocently. "With witnesses."

"All right," Ashley agreed instantly. "You ready?"

"Ash, you're pregnant," Andros protested.

"So?" Ashley challenged him, her eyes shining brightly. "That doesn't mean I stop working out until I have the baby, and if I'm going to win anyway, there's no danger to me or the baby."

Andros stared at her uncertainly. "You're joking, right?"

Ashley laughed, tilting her face up to kiss him. "Yeah."

"Okay," Karone said. "Since Andros refuses to fight his pregnant wife, we'll have to move onto more pressing matters."

"Like what you're naming this baby," Cassie said. "You guys must have some ideas!"

Ashley glanced at Andros and shrugged. "A few. We really haven't gotten that far yet."

"Do you wish for a boy or for a girl?" Aura asked.

"Boy," Ashley said, just as Andros said, "Girl."

They looked at each other and laughed. "I don't really care," Ashley said, leaning against Andros as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. "It'd just be nice to have another boy, but a girl would be nice too."

"I think it's a girl," Zhane said.

"Then it'll be a boy," Karone warned them.

"Boy," Carlos said.

"Girl," TJ retorted.

"Girl," Cassie agreed.

Aura shook her head. "I do not see how Zhane predicting a girl results in a boy."

"Neither do I," Ashley said. "Especially when he said you and Carlos were having merchildren."

"Merchildren?" Aura repeated.

"Half human, half fish," Carlos explained, giving Zhane a half-hearted glare. "The last time I checked, Diego and Murchadh were not fish."

"I didn't mean it!" Zhane protested, hiding behind Karone. "I also told Andros and Ashley that Aidan would be triplet girls. I'm wrong all the time!"

Ashley felt Andros shaking with the effort it took to swallow his laughter. His laughter vanished abruptly as the alarms suddenly flared up.

"Deca?"

"There is disturbance in the city," Deca informed them. She sounded as though she was frowning. "There is no file on those causing it."

"Bridge," Andros said teresly. The others followed him out of the Simudeck and set off at a near sprint for the bridge. The rangers were already there, looks of alarm on their faces, mixed with determination as they watched the mayhem on the viewing screen.

There were three of them, two female, and one male, standing side by side in a row, firing blindly at innocent civilians, but doing little in the way of chasing them. They were standing in the street, as if waiting.

"They're the Overlords favorites," Matt explained, pointing to the one in gold. "That's Skylar."

"Gold is Idris's color," Ryan added. "The one in the crimson is Ximena, and she serves Ailbhe."

"Spyridon is Ciela's favorite soldier," Mira said, gesturing to the boy in onyx.

"Shouldn't we be down there?" Ciaran asked, holding up his left wrist. "We're rangers, aren't we?"

"We're going," Ryan assured him, his face suddenly pale. "You guys ready?"

"Let's rocket!"


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: If I haven't already told you that it's mine, it belongs to Saban or Disney.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Do you have a problem with merchildren? I needed Zhane to say something stupid. I also wrote that chapter in about an hour, so something crazy was bound to show up. :P_

_**Mz. Daydream:** The new team will fight after having their powers for two hours, but whether they win or not is a different story. Andros would spar against Ashley after enough coaxing, and he could win if he wanted to. :P _

_**Juzblue:** I know it's weird, but it had to happen. Glad ya like the merchildren. _

_**DizneeDol:** Thanks. Here's some more._

_**Jenny:** Jenny needs a friend? Hmm... I'll see what I can do for you. :P_

_**the-power-of-love:** Thanks, here's more. _

Chapter 9

"Deca, teleport them to the battle scene," Andros ordered.

"Affirmative," the AI replied, and in an instant had engulfed the rangers in seven streaks of light.

"Looking for us?" Ryan called as they appeared in front of the three servants of the Overlords. Spyridon was cloaked completely in black. Skylar and Ximena wore identical armor, the only difference the color. Their attire was reminiscent of Astronema's, or would have been, if this generation of rangers had been familiar with the former queen of evil.

Skylar laughed. "So the rangers decided to come and play..."

"What we didn't come here to do is talk," Tempest snapped, leaping at them before Ryan could stop her. "Star Slinger!"

She caught Skylar off guard, and managed to drive the young woman in gold several feet backwards before there was any retaliation.

"The little baby ranger thinks she knows what she's doing," Ximena taunted, drawing a crimson-hilted sword. "She's sadly mistaken."

"Shut up!" Tempest snarled, whirling on Ximena just as Skylar recovered. The yellow ranger went flying through the air, landing painfully as Damien and Mira ran to place themselves between her and Sklyar.

"Tem, you gotta think about what you're getting yourself into," Damien admonished her as he helped her to her feet.

"Like there's time to think," Tempest retorted, shaking herself free of his grasp. "Come on."

Ximena was keeping Matt and Melanie busy. Ciaran grappled with Spyridon as Ryan went after Skylar. Tempest sprinted to assist Ryan as Mira and Damien joined Ciaran.

"Ryan, look out!" Tempest shouted, as Ximena whirled to avoid taking a hit from Melanie's Satellite Stunner. Ximena caught Ryan in the shoulder with her sword, and then turned back to beating Matt and Melanie.

Ryan stumbled, knocked off-balance by Ximena's blow. Skylar took advantage of his distraction, and her golden sword would have sliced right through the red ranger if Tempest hadn't slammed into her from the side, tackling her.

"Thanks," Ryan gasped, staggering to his feet.

"No problem," Tempest said airly, darting around him to block Skylar's next blow. Of them all, she was definitely the quickest on her feet.

"Mira!" Damien shouted, catching the purple ranger as Spyridon and Ximena teamed up. "Look out!"

"They could use some help," Ryan obseved, already moving towards them as Tempest followed.

Ximena hissed in pain as Ryan planted his feet firmly in the small of her back, sending her to the ground. Skylar moved to retaliate for Ximena, knocking the wind out of Tempest, who tried to help Ryan hold her off.

"Give up yet?" Ximena laughed, watching the yellow ranger sprawled out on the floor.

"Never," Tempest spat as Ryan charged again. "You killed Auntie!"

Ximena's laughter was genuine now. "You think we killed her?"

"You mean you didn't?" Matt challenged, joining them.

"She sent us here!" Skylar informed them.

"Liar!" Tempest screamed, making to attack. Ciaran caught her just in time, knowing that she was nearly blinded by her anger.

"How else would we be here?" Spyridon asked. "We couldn't have done it without that double-crossing traitor."

"She was not a traitor!" Tempest insisted, now struggling hard against the hold Ciaran had on her.

"She's fought on both sides," Skylar said. "That makes her traitor to one."

"We'll be watching you, rangers," Spyridon said. With that, the three of them disappeard.

"Deca, teleport seven," Ryan said after a moment of stunned silence. Seconds later, they reappeared on the Megaship.

"Not bad for your first battle," Karone said with an encouraging smile.

"Yeah, good job, you guys," Ashley congratulated them. "Are you guys tired? The Megaship is currently on loan to you guys, I guess, and there's plenty of rooms."

"No, we're all right," Ryan said distantly. He sighed. "It'll just take some getting used to, that's all."


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: If I haven't mentioned that it's mine, then it belongs to Saban or Disney or whoever I said owns the person/place/thing.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** I know, Tempest is awesome. :P_

_**Juzblue:** Maybe. I'm not telling._

_**Mz. Daydream:** I love Tempest too. Their Auntie isn't exactly a traitor. It all depends on how you look at it._

_**Jenny:** Thank you! I now have a title, and you now have a friend. Sorta. You'll have a friend by the end, I promise. _

Chapter 10

"Night, you guys," Ashley said to Zhane and Karone as they left. "See you in the morning."

"Night, Ash," Karone said as Zhane yawned, holding Kaden as Zora ran next door ahead of them.

Ashley let out a tired sigh as she closed the door behind Zhane and Karone. They'd had a small celebration, in honor of the rangers first battle, and as a chance for the old rangers to catch up with each other. Of course, with seven adults, seven rangers, and more children than Ashley had managed to count, a small celebration had quickly become a large party, and she was exhausted.

Tempest and Ryan had stayed behind to help clean up, and were in the kitchen throwing away the last of the garbage as she returned.

"Thanks for your help," Ashley said, stifling a yawn.

"No problem," Tempest said. "I wouldn't want to be on the Megaship until all those kids have gone to bed, anyway."

Ashley grinned. "Good point."

"Mommy, I'm not tired!" Jenny cried, flying into the kitchen, a half eaten box of candy in her hands, just seconds ahead of Andros, who was trailed by Marieke, who immediately wrapped her arms around Tempest. "Tell Daddy I'm not tired!"

"Jenny's not tired," Ashley said. She glanced down at her daughter. "How much candy did Uncle Zhane give you?"

"Three boxes full!" Aidan said appearing in the doorway. "And she wouldn't share any of it!"

"I'm going to kill him," Andros muttered.

"No!" Marieke shouted from behind Tempest. "You can't kill Uncle Zhane! We love Uncle Zhane!"

Andros blinked several times before he started shaking with the effort it took to repress his laughter. Ashley turned around, tears leaking out of her eyes as she leaned her head against the cabinets. Aidan laughed outright, causing hurt to spread across his sister's face.

"He was just joking, stupid," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Aidan," Ashley said warningly, her laughter gone. "You don't talk to your sister that way."

"But she's stupid!" Aidan protested.

"Aidan," Andros said sternly. "You don't talk about your sister that way, and you don't talk back to your mother. Apologize."

"Sorry, Mom," Aidan muttered.

"To your sister," Andros said patiently. Aidan glared at him as he stared back calmly.

"I'm sorry!" he shouted in her face. Marieke burst into tears as Jenny kicked Aidan in the ankle. "Ow!"

"Jenny, no kicking," Ashley said wearily, pulling her daughter away from Aidan as she continued to kick him. Tempest lifted Marieke into her arms as she continued to cry.

"Do you want me to read you a bedtime story?" she offered. Marieke nodded eagerly.

"Right now?" she asked. Tempest nodded.

"Come on."

"Thank you," Ashley whispered gratefully. Tempest smiled, and nodded, and Ashley turned back to the twin she was still having to hold back from attacking her brother. "Jenny..."

"He made Marieke cry!" Jenny protested. "Why do I get in trouble?"

"You know you're not supposed to kick anyone," Ashley said tiredly. "Just go to bed now, all right?"

"But I'm not tired," Jenny reminded her. Ashley caught herself just before her temper snapped.

"I'll take her," Ryan offered. "It looks like you two have your hands full."

Jenny let Ryan take her hand, if somewhat reluctantly, and she stuck her tongue out at Aidan on her way out of the door. Ashley sank down at the kitchen table, staring at Aidan.

"I know, I know, I'm supposed to love them," Aidan said. "I'm supposed to be glad that I have them. I'm supposed to go to my room now."

"Yeah," Ashley agreed. "That's pretty much what you're supposed to do. But there's no reason why-"

"I forgot my candy!" Jenny shrieked, running back in and snatching up the box off of the floor.

"Jenny, I don't think you should eat that anymore," Andros said, plucking the box out of her hands.

"But I want my candy!"

"I'll buy you some more in the morning," Ashley promised her. "As long as you go to bed right now."

"Sorry," Ryan said, reappearing. "She's fast, isn't she?"

"Very," Andros agreed, watching Jenny run back out of the room. "It's all right."

"Hey, kid, can I say something to you?" Ryan asked.

"I'm not a kid!" Aidan snapped.

"Can I say something to you?" Ryan asked again.

"Fine," Aidan agreed sullenly.

"I thought maybe you might listen if it comes from someone other than your parents," Ryan said, looking at Ashley for permission to continue. She nodded slightly, and Ryan said, "You might hate them, and they might drive you insane most of the time, but they're still your family, and without them, you wouldn't know what to do."

"You said something like that before," Aidan said, frowing. "What happened to your sister?"

"I don't know," Ryan said, laughing bitterly. "Funny, isn't it? I'd have given anything not to have her, but once she was gone, I'd have given anything to have her back."

"She was just gone?" Aidan asked skeptically.

Ryan shrugged. "I can't remember what happened. I think Auntie didn't want me to remember. I can't see her face in my mind anymore, and I wish I hadn't been able to forget her."

"What was her name?" Aidan asked, sounding less sullen now, and more curious than anything else.

Ryan thought about it for a moment, his brow furrowed. "Sara," he said after a moment. "I think her name was Sara. She was about your sisters's age..." His voice trailed off and a slightly glazed look came over his eyes. "But I remember another one... a baby... I think I remember... I was supposed to take care of her... and I don't remember if I did."

"Ryan," Ashley said softly. "I think you should get some sleep."

Ryan nodded, his eyes clearing. "You're probably right... They can't be much more than dreams by now, anyway... You're all right, kid. I'm only here to stop the Overlords. If you want the morpher, it's not for me to take away from you."

"Really?" Aidan's eyes lit up.

"Go to bed, Aidan," Andros said tiredly. "You've got a lot of growing up to do before you can be a ranger."

"Night, Mom," Aidan said. "Night, Dad."

Ashley let her face fall forwards into her hands as Aidan left the room, her eyes refusing to stay open another moment. She was tempted to fall asleep right there at the table, and probably would have if Andros hadn't appeared at her side, lifting her into his arms and carrying her up the stairs to their room. Ashley smiled slightly as she rested her head against his chest, but had no energy to do more than that.

Her eyes opened slightly as Andros set her down in bed. "Can you get me some pajamas?" she mumbled sleepily. Andros nodded, and a moment later, she felt something cloth being pressed into her hands. It took an almost impossible amount of energy for Ashley to change out of the loose skirt and yellow blouse she was wearing and into one of Andros's old shirts, but once she collapsed back down onto the bed, she was suddenly wide awake.

"Are you all right, Ash?" Andros asked softly, pulling her into his arms as he crawled in beside her. Ashley nodded her head, tears rushing suddenly into her eyes.

"Why do they hate each other?" she whispered. Andros brushed her tears away, letting her bury her face in his shoulder as he tried to comfort her. "Jeff and I never fought this much."

"Shh," he whispered soothingly. "They don't hate each other, Ash. Don't worry, everything's going to be all right."

"You don't think they hate each other?" Ashley looked at him hopefully.

Andros ran his fingers through her hair and shook his head. "I know they don't."

"You're sure?"

"I'm positive," Andros said firmly. "Karone and I were worse than this, before she vanished. If she hadn't, we would have killed each other."

"I can't see you fighting with Karone," Ashley admitted a moment later.

"It's like Ryan said," Andros said. "Once she was gone, I'd have given anything to get her back."

"So you don't think they'll hate each other when they grow up?"

"I'm sure they won't," Andros assured her. He slipped his hands under her shirt to rub small circles in her swollen abdomen. Ashley's entire body was tensed, not much, but enough for him to worry that she was under too much stress to be healthy for either her or the baby. "They'll love each other, and their little brother or sister."

His touch soothed her more than his words did, and Ashley gradually began to relax against him, her eyes closing once again. "Andros? What should we name the baby?"

Andros smiled, both his hands still resting on her stomahc. "What about Sorin, if it's a boy?"

"Maybe," Ashley said, testiing the name out in her head a few times. "What about for a girl?"

Andros's smile grew wider, and he said instantly, "Seren. It's Karovan."

"It's pretty," Ashley said. "What's it mean?"

"Star," Andros said softly, moving one hand up to stroke her cheek gently. Her eyes opened at his touch, and Ashley found herself lost in Andros's eyes. "The name didn't fit either of the twins, but you... you're like a star, Ash, and..."

Andros stopped talking as he tried to keep himself from blushing and failed miserably. Ashley was staring at him with a wide smile on her face, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezing him hard.

"Do you have idea how sweet that was?" Ashley demanded, suddenly struck with the urge to cry. "I love you so much, Andros."

"I love you, Ash," Andros whispered, watching Ashley's eyes slowly close again. "Good night."

"Night," Ashley mumbled, still smiling as she fell asleep.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: If I haven't told you that it's mine, then it belongs to Saban or Disney or whoever.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** And you said Seren was going to be a brat:P_

_**Mz. Daydream:** Thanks. I figured I should make Andros and Ashley actually attempt to raise their children for once. :P_

_**C.C.C:** I would love to be Ashley, too! In this story, anyway, at least for a few more chapters. :P_

_**Jenny:** Yeah, I chose Different Defenders. You were the one who chose Out of the Darkness, weren't you? I should just let you name all my stories for me... Ryan's your friend, but you were too mad at Aidan to be nice to him. :P_

_**DizneeDol:** Thanks. It's okay that you didn't review! Don't worry about it. Good luck with school._

_**the-power-of-love:** Thanks, here's more._

_**Mel:** Yay, you have no homework! I do... but doing this is more fun. :P There was a storm? I guess that means it didn't affect me._

Chapter 11

The Megaship was cool and quiet, Deca's eye watching over everything and everyone. The AI's presence had made the rangers, Ryan especially, uneasy for the first few days, but after two weeks of living on the Megaship, they had come to rely on the ship's computer just as much as their predecessors had.

"Ryan?"

"Tem!" Ryan gasped, whirling around in his chair. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"I thought you heard me come in," the yellow ranger protested as she stepped onto the bridge. "Watcha doing?"

"Nothing," Ryan said. "Just... thinking."

"Thinking?" Tempest repeated skeptically. "You?"

"Shut up," Ryan said with a small grin. "And yes, I was thinking."

"What about?" Tempest asked, plopping down in the seat next to him, somehow managing to sit cross legged in the chair and still look comfortable. "Battle plans?"

"No," Ryan said. "I don't know... maybe just... what we're fighting for."

"I thought we knew what we were fighting for," Tempest said warily. "Unless I missed something, we were against the Overlords, and -"

"Not that, Tem," Ryan said. "We know who we're fighting against, but have you ever thought about the people that we're defending?"

"No," Tempest admitted with a rueful grin. She looked at him knowingly and added, "Have you?"

"Not really," Ryan said. "Maybe I would have, if I could just remember..."

"Remember what?"

Ryan sighed. "You were just a baby when the Overlords came, Tem. You don't remember... but I should. I was nine, I think, when it happened. Nine-year-olds have memory. I've got nothing."

"Are you sure it's gone?" Tempest asked. "Maybe you didn't want to remember, and you buried it."

"I'm sure," Ryan said. "I've been looking for something to unbury, but it's just gone, like it was never there."

"Maybe you're not supposed to have it yet," Tempest suggested. "Maybe it's one of those things were it comes when it's needed."

"I think knowing who I am is needed," Ryan said.

"But it's not," Tempest said. "Not really. Who you are is you, not your name, or your family."

"Fine," Ryan agreed. "But I'd like to know where I came from."

"So would I," Tempest said. "You said I was a baby. Why didn't they kill me? They must have killed my parents, and brothers and sisters, if I had any."

Ryan shrugged. "We'll probably never know. Maybe when the Overlords came to sell everyone into slavery you were hidden, or asleep. They couldn't have done a very thorough job searching, not if Auntie was able to get seven of us in such a short time."

Tempest sighed. "You're probably right... I just wish there weren't so many maybes."

The alarm shrilled, and Tempest jumped. "Deca?"

"Skylar and Ximena are on KO-35," Deca reported. "There is no sign of Spyridon."

"Where are they?" Ryan demanded, leaping to his feet, reaching for his morpher and flipping it open.

"They are currently outside the home of Andros and Ashley," Deca replied, sounding worried.

"That's bad," Tempest said. "I don't think we should wait for the others."

"Don't worry, they were rangers," Ryan told her, although privately he agreed with her. "Deca... tell them to hurry."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ashley stirred in her sleep and rolled over, trying to get comfortable. She was nearly in her fifth month of pregnancy and her stomach was more than just slightly swollen now.

Andros mumbled something as she pulled out of his embrace, and his arms twitched slightly, trying to pull her back. Ashley smiled and shifted so that she was facing him before easing back into his arms, and hoping that she'd be able to sleep on her left side for longer than she'd been able to on her right.

As Ashley settled back into his arms, Andros's eyes flickered open, and he readjusted his hold on her before falling back asleep. Ashley rested her head on his chest, the sound of his deep, even breathing lulling her back to sleep until Ashley heard a sound much more alarming.

Breaking glass.

"Andros," she whispered, knowing instinctively that something was wrong. Aidan and the twins were heavy sleepers, and wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night to wander around. "Andros, wake up."

"What's wrong?" Andros muttered sleepily, opening his eyes as she poked him hard in the ribs.

"I don't know," Ashley whispered, holding her stomach protectively. "Someone broke one of the windows..."

That was all Andros needed to hear to come wide awake. "Stay here."

_"But Andros-"_

Ashley's telepathic words were cut off by Andros's._ "Stay here, Ash. I don't want you or the baby getting hurt."_

The dark silence was shattered by a child's scream, and Ashley found it hard not to scream herself. "That's Jenny."

"Stay here," Andros said again, running out of the room. He skidded to a halt just outside of his daughter's room, leaping back as he recognized the two figures who emerged from it. Skylar and Ximena, who Ryan had claimed were the favored servants of the Overlords Idris and Ailbhe stepped out of the twins' room, each holding an unnaturally still chlid.

"Let my daughters go," Andros ordered, falling into a defensive stance.

"Can you handle him?" Ximena asked Skylar, who nodded and thrust Marieke into Ximena's arms. Ximena dropped both girls on the floor a safe distance away from Andros and headed down the hall. "I never did like that boy..."

Andros went cold with fear. They were going to go after Aidan as well... and there was no way he could stop them.

_"Andros, what's going on?"_

Ashley's voice snapped Andros out of his dazed state, and he charged at Skylar just as he heard Aidan start shouting. The boy's screams were cut short, and Andros nearly collapsed.

_"Aidan!"_ he shouted telepathically. _"Can you hear me?"_

_"Dad?"_

Andros's relief at hearing his son's voice was short lived.

_"Andros!"_ Ashley screamed. _"The other one, he's here!"_

_"Fight him, Ash," _Andros said, dodging a blow from Skylar's sword, unable to recall ever feeling this helpless. No matter how hard he fought, he was never going to be able to save all of them.

_"I am fighting,"_ Ashley told him, and he could hear the panic she was trying to suppress. The thought of losing his unborn child was almost too much for Andros to bear.

"Andros!"

He went weak with relief as he heard Ryan's voice, and a second later the red ranger was at his side, pressing a blaster into his hand. "Where are they?"

"Ximena went after Aidan," Andros said, his uppercut forcing Skylar back. "Spyridon... oh god, he's after Ashley."

"Go," Ryan said, stepping between Andros and Skylar. "Matt and Ciaran are already in Aidan's room. They'll take care of him."

Andros turned and sprinted back to his room. He wasn't sure how, but Ashley was still on her feet, although she didn't look to be that way much longer, not with the beating she was taking. She kept her arms clasped around her stomach, leaving her upper body completely open to attack as she managed to land a kick for every ten of Spyridon's blows.

"The child must not live," Spyridon shouted, his sword poised to strike. He took a step forward, and Ashley backed away. He was forcing her into a corner, and she knew it, but there was no escape.

Andros fired just as Spyridon raised his sword, and Ashley leapt out of the way, rushing over to his side, nearly dropping down at his feet.

"The child must not live," Spyridon repeated. "The child will not live..."

Then he vanished from their room, and Ashley's body fell limply against Andros's. He caught her as he started shaking, nearly dropping her. "It's all right, Ash," he murmured, trying to convince himself. "He's gone now."

"What about Aidan?" Ashley asked, looking more afraid than Andros had ever seen her before. "The twins?'

"Come on," Andros said, leading her cautiously out of the room, prepared to fight again at a split seconds notice, but all was silent except for the weary sighs of the rangers.

Aidan was standing next to Ryan as he was attempting to wake Jenny. Tempeset was shaking Marieke, but with no luck.

"Andros," Ashley whimpered as she saw them, clinging to his arm. "They're... they're not dead, are they?'

"No," Ryan said calmly, looking up at her as he demorphed. "They are not... they were just knocked unconscious."

"Let's get them to the Megaship," Andros said, still supporting Ashley, who was starting to sway on her feet. Her forearms were bruised a deep purple from where Spyridon had repeatedly pummeled her, trying to kill the unborn child. One eye was blackening, and her lip had been split open. Andros noticed for the first time that she was limping, putting almost no weight on her left leg.

Aidan seemed to be in fairly good condition, only a few cuts and bruises, and he seemed well enough to at least hover around the rangers asking questions.

Ryan nodded, and stood, handing Marieke to Tempest as he lifted Jenny into his arms. Andros wrapped his arms around Ashley's waist, allowing her to take all her weight off of her hurt leg, and closed his eyes, breathing deeply to calm his nerves.

Ryan raised his communicator to his mouth. "Deca, teleport twelve."


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: If I haven't said that it's mine, it belongs to Saban or Disney or whoever.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Don't worry, you and Jenny and Aidan and Seren can't die. _

_**Mz. Daydream:** No, they only want the baby and Aidan dead... but the reason for that is actually even more depressing than them wanting all of them dead. :P_

_**Juzblue:** I scared you? You actually think I'd kill Andros and Ashley's children? Oops, bad question. Don't worry, they're fine. :P_

_**C.C.C:** No, Andros is not going to die. No one is, but the next few chapters aren't going to be fun... I've got a story that I'll put up after this one, or when this one is almost over._

_**DizneeDol:** Thanks, here's more. It wasn't my birthday, though. Mine's in August. :P_

Chapter 12

The instant Andros helped Ashley onto one of the patient beds on the Megaship, she started struggling to get down, her eyes fixed on her two motionless daughters.

"Stop moving, Ashley," Andros said firmly, pushing her down, careful not to touch her badly bruised forearms. Ashley protested weakly and then fell back, her eyes starting to close. "Come on, Ash, stay awake."

"Dad," Aidan said, tugging on his arm. "Dad!"

"What?" Andros snapped, instantly regretting it the moment he saw Aidan's tear-streaked face. He bent down to wrap his son in his arms. "Aidan, I'm sorry..."

"Are they going to die?"

"No," Andros said, sounding much more confident than he felt. "Can you do something for me?"

"What?" Aidan asked, dragging his pajama sleeve across his eyes.

"Take care of your mom, all right?" Andros said. "I'm going to go take care of your sisters."

"All right," Aidan whispered. He stepped over to Ashley's side, gingerly touching her hand. "Mom?"

"I'm all right," Ashley said weakly, her eyes still closed. "Just tired..."

"Mom, stay awake," Aidan pleaded. "Dad said to stay awake."

"I'm trying," Ashley whispered. Her eyelids were too heavy to open and her head was pounding. "Don't worry, sweetie, I'm all right."

"You are **not** all right," another voice said, and Ashley groaned, knowing that he wouldn't be kind enough to let her drift off to sleep. "Open your eyes, Ashley."

"Teej?" Ashley mumbled, struggling to open her eyes. "How'd you get here?"

"We're all staying on the Megaship," TJ reminded her.

"Oh," said Ashley, remembering slightly.

"You need to sit up, Ash," TJ said. "I'm going to help you... do your shoulders hurt?"

"Everything hurts," Ashley muttered, wincing as TJ slipped an arm under her shoulders and pulled her up. Her eyes finally opened and settled on the bulge in her stomach. "The baby," she whispered.

"Hold still," TJ ordered, a scanner now in his hand. "Don't worry, Ashley, I'm sure everything's fine. Talk. Stay awake."

"Where's Zhane and Karone?" Ashley asked. "Did they get them too?"

"Zhane and Karone are fine," TJ said, running a scanner over her body. "They're over there, helping take care of the others. You weren't the only one who got it this bad... Everything seems fine with the baby, Ash."

"Andros," Ashley whispered suddenly, her eyes widening in horror. "He's bleeding."

TJ turned around and winced at the sight. The rangers gathered around Jenny and Marieke were standing in a circle, meaning that no one besides Ashley and TJ had spotted Andros's back. The shirt he'd been sleeping in had been torn open, revealing a deep gash that Andros was currently ignoring.

"Andros, get over here!" TJ ordered. "Now."

"I'm fine," Andros insisted, not turning around. "How's Ashley?"

"Not bleeding to death," TJ said. "Get over here."

Andros sighed and sat down next to Ashley, holding her steady as she started to sway, but not letting her lean against him and doze off. Aura handed him a bag of ice and bandages, motioning for him to wrap Ashley's ankle as they tended to his back. Aura and TJ pulled off his shirt, TJ muttering something that once would have infuriated him. His backside was doused with water, and then another liquid that caused him to stifle a cry of pain as it caused the would to sting furiously.

"It is not as deep as it looks," Aura informed him.

"Meaning you won't need stitches," TJ told him.

Andros kept quiet and wrapped Ashley's ankle as Aura pressed a bandage against his back. He held the bag of ice against her foot, watching Jenny and Marieke's still forms with a heavy heart. No matter how many times he was assured that they were simply unconscious, he wasn't going to breathe any easier until they had woken up.

"I think she's moving a little," Tempest called, gesturing at Jenny. Not waiting for any more, Andros ran across the room, taking his daughter's hand as she stirred slightly.

"Please wake up," he whispered. "Jenny, wake up."

"Daddy?"

"Jenny," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her and holding her small body as close to him as he dared. "I love you so much."

"Daddy, my head hurts," Jenny mumbled.

"We know it does," Ashley said, appearing at Jenny's other side, ignoring the look Andros gave her. A moment later, he sighed, knowing that Ashley was out of any immediate danger and that there was no way that he could keep her away from their daughters.

Ashley's gaze kept flickering to Marieke, willing her daughter to move, and eventually, she did, her brown eyes dazed and confused as she opened them. "Mommy?" she asked. "Daddy?"

"We're right here," Ashley assured her, blinking back tears. "Don't worry, everything's going to be okay."

Andros's eyes drifted away for a moment, and he saw TJ and Cassie deep in conversation, somehow knowing what they were saying. He sighed softly; he couldn't blame them.

"TJ, can I talk to you?" he said quietly, stepping over to them. TJ and Cassie exchanged a brief glance, and TJ nodded.

"Look, Andros..."

"It's all right," Andros said heavily. "The last thing I ever wanted to do was endanger my family, but I did. You want to leave, and you're probably right to do so. You and Cassie, and Carlos and Aura, have done more than should have been asked of you. This isn't your home, and you're free to leave whenever you want."

"If it wasn't for TJ Junior and Chandra, you'd know we'd stay," TJ said, and Andros nodded. "I just don't want to see my daughter lying there looking like she's dead."

"I know," Andros said. "I guess you'll be leaving in the morning?"

"We'l hang around for a few more days," TJ said. "But I want to be out of here before something like this happens again... and you know it will."


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: If I haven't told you that it's mine, then it belongs to Saban or Disney or whoever I said I borrowed it from.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Sorry, they have to leave. They're too smart to stick around. :P_

_**Juzblue:** I never said I wouldn't hurt them! I just said I wouldn't kill them. There is a difference. :P_

_**Mz. Daydream:** Yeah, I needed the rest of them out of there. You'll see why later. _

_**Jenny:** Fine, I'll forgive you. You did name the story, after all. :P_

_**Mel:** Thanks... Don't worry, the earthquake can't be that bad, can it? _

Chapter 13

Andros watched Ryan spar with Melanie, their battle swift but not difficult enough for his liking. He refrained from commenting with some difficulty. They had been shoved into this quickly, he reminded himself, and were doing the best that they could. Every now and then a small voice in his head piped up, saying that they'd known how to fight when they'd gotten themselves into this, and they weren't pushing themselves hard enough.

He sighed and tried not to take his frustration out on them. They were fighting against Skylar, Ximena, and Spyridon every day, and had started winning the battles, but had yet to face the Overlords themselves. Andros wasn't worried about the rangers; they had proven that they were capable of taking care of themselves. It was his family that he was worried about.

Ever since that awful night when he'd almost lost them all, Andros had been wondering why he hadn't been more alert. Just as Zordon had been taken, leaving his rangers without a mentor, Andros should have expected something similar to occur here, especially with eight mentors to only seven rangers.

Four, he corrected himself glumly. He couldn't blame them for it in the least, but TJ and Cassie, and then Carlos and Aura, had decided that it was in their children's best interests to return to their own homes, at least for the present time.

The Simudeck doors opened, giving Ryan and Melanie an excuse to take a short break. Both were drenched with sweat, and Andros wondered if maybe they were pushing themselves harder than he'd thought.

"Hey, Ash," he said softly, pulling his wife into his arms. Ashley smiled and returned the hug.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked. She glanced at Ryan and Melanie as Andros nodded. "Good job, you guys... Just don't work yourselves to death, all right?"

"Don't worry about us," Ryan said. "We're fine."

Ashley snorted with laughter. "I've heard that too many times to believe it." She slipped her arms through Andros's as she dragged him off of the Simudeck. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" Andros demanded, noticing that she was still limping slightly. "Aren't you supposed to still be on crutches?"

"I can walk," Ashley insisted. "Deca gave me permission to... and we're going to the med bay."

"Why?" Andros demanded, fear building up in his stomach. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Ashley said, seeing the anxious look on his face relax. "I was just going to have Deca run another test on the baby... and I was wondering if you'd want to know whether it's a boy or a girl."

Andros hesitated. "Do you want to know?"

Ashley shrugged. "Do you?"

"Ash!"

"Sorry." Ashley grinned. "I don't know... We wanted Aidan to be a surprise."

"Aidan **was** a surprise," Andros reminded her. "In every sense of the word."

"Did you ever regret that?" Ashley asked suddenly, her voice so soft Andros nearly didn't hear her. When he did, he stopped walking abruptly, and turned to face her.

"Did you just say what I think you said?" he asked.

Ashley nodded apologetically. "I'm sorry," she said. "I always meant to ask you that, but there never seemed to be a right time. Would you just... humor me? Answer the question."

"All right," Andros agreed, reaching out to touch her face, circling her still-blackened eye with his thumb. "I've never regretted a moment of my life with you, Ashley."

Ashley beamed at him, throwing her arms around his neck. "I was hoping you'd say that."

"Feel better?" Andros asked in her ear, holding her as close to him as he dared.

"Yeah," Ashley said, stepping back as they started walking again. "So, do you want to know?"

"It'd be nice to know," Andros said thoughtfully. "But it was nice being surprised, too."

Ashley groaned. "This is getting us nowhere."

They entered the medical bay. Ashley started to giggle as Andros scooped her up in his arms, setting her down gently on one of the patient beds. He stepped back and watched anxiously as Deca began running tests on their unborn baby, and prayed that everything was all right. In the three days since the attack, neither Ashley nor the baby seemed to be suffering, but Andros knew that he wasn't going to truly relax until he was holding his son or daughter in his arms.

"Everything is normal," Deca reported a few minutes later, and Andros sighed with relief as Ashley hopped down, wrapping her arms around his neck. He felt her exhale slowly with relief, and rubbed small circles in her shoulders, silently thanking whoever might be listening that the Overlords hadn't taken his children from him.

"Let's go for a walk," Ashley suggested a moment later. "The rangers have enough to worry about without us scrutinizing everything that they do."

"We're supposed to," Andros protested, and smiled broadly at her, wrapping an arm around her waist. They hadn't gotten nearly enough time to themselves lately, and something told him that it was going to be a long time before he had the entire afternoon to spend with her again. "Let's go."

They ended up on the couch in the Observatory, Ashley curled up in Andros's arms, her head resting on his chest. Ashley stared up at the stars all around them, her ever present smile widening as she remembered Andros's reason for naming their daughter Seren. Ashley tried to remember anyone ever saying something that meant as much to her as that had, and the only times she could recall, Andros had been the one speaking then, too.

"You're really sweet, Andros, did you know that?" Ashley laughed softly at the look on his face, and reached up to run her fingers through his hair. "I was being serious."

Andros smiled down at her, and pulled her closer to him. "I love you."

"I love you too," Ashley said. She paused then and added softly, "Do you know that we've known each other for ten years?"

"We have?" Andros repeated. "It's been that long?"

"Yeah," Ashley said. "Longer... I turned seventeen a few weeks after you gave us our morphers, remember?"

"How could I forget?" Andros retorted. He slipped his fingers under the neckline of her shirt, fishing out the necklace that still hung by a golden chain around her neck. "Have you ever taken this off?"

Ashley shook her head. "Not that I can remember, and I don't intend to."

Silence fell again after she spoke, and she was completely content just to lie in Andros's arms and let the rest of the world slip away as he held her, one hand resting on her swollen belly. He'd done that four years before, when she had been pregnant with the twins, she remembered, and four years before that, when Ashley had been pregnant the first time, with Aidan.

Vaguely, Ashley could recall being terrified to tell Andros of her pregnancy, in fear that he would leave her, and now, she couldn't remember why. The thought probably never even crossed his mind. They had only been eighteen, but Andros had asked her to marry him only hours after Ashley had told him about Aidan. He'd admitted to her later that he'd had her engagement ring ever since he had gone back to Earth with the rangers, but that he'd been too afraid to ask her, thinking that she wouldn't want to tie herself down to him. Ashley sank deeper into his embrace, wondering how she could have ever wanted her life to turn out any different than it had.

"Are you still awake?" Andros asked softly, and Ashley nodded her head against him.

"Yeah."

"What were you thinking about?" Andros asked, stroking her hair with one hand.

"You," Ashley replied instantly. "I love you so much, Andros."

"I love you, Ashley," Andros whispered, kissing the top of her head. "I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost you."

"You're not going to," Ashley said firmly, tilting her head back to look up at him. "I'm not going anywhere, Andros."

"I know," Andros said with a soft sigh. "I just keep thinking about the other night..."

"That wasn't your fault," Ashley insisted, hearing the heavy guilt in his voice.

"I know," Andros admitted a moment later. Ashley looked at him skeptically, and he smiled sheepishly, knowing that she wasn't going to believe that. His smile faded as he added softly, "I can't remember ever feeling more helpless. I thought I was about to lose all of you, and no matter how hard I fought I would never be able to save all of you."

"We're all going to be okay," Ashley said, and Andros nodded, reassured but not entirely convinced.

"I don't like putting your lives in someone else's hands," he said softly. "No matter how good of a person they are... I'd die for you, Ashley. I'd die for our children, but I couldn't ask that of anyone else."

"I know you'd die for us," Ashley said, entwining her fingers with his. "But I'm telling you, you're not going to need to. The rangers can win against the Overlords, and no one's going to take us away from each other or our children."

Andros simply nodded and pulled Ashley closer to him. His worst fear was that he would not only lose his family, he would be unable to help them when they needed him most.

"Andros, we're going to be fine," Ashley said again, feeling his tension.

"I love you," Andros whispered by way of reply. Ashley sighed and relaxed against him again, only to sit up and glare at Deca a moment later as she interrupted them.

"What?"

"There is an incoming transmission," Deca replied.

"Who's it from?" Andros asked, hoping that it was nothing important.

"It is from Tykwa," Deca replied, and Andros groaned. He really shouldn't ignore that.

"I'm coming with you," Ashley informed him as he started to walk away. "Wait for me."

He stopped and reached for her hand, knowing somehow that this wasn't going to be good news. He was right. Tykwa's face stared at him somberly, and Andros felt his stomach clench as he realized what had happened. The door was now open for the Overlords to attack KO-35 with everything they were willing to risk.

"Say it," Andros said, his voice deceptively calm. From Ashley's shaken expression, he knew that she'd figured it out as well, but like him, needed to hear the words to make them real. Tykwa stared at him for a moment before she nodded. When she spoke, her voice was as steady and even as his.

"Kin Won is dead."


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: If I haven't told you that it's mine, then it is the property of Saban, Disney, or whoever I borrowed it from.

_**Juzblue:** Yup, Andros and Ashley are 27 and are about to have four kids. No twins this time, sorry. :P_

_**Mz. Daydream:** I needed to give them time together, so I don't feel so bad about everything that I do next. :P I love writing the happy scenes, though. _

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Sorry, he's dead... Yup, Aidan was a big surprise... and I don't intend to change my mind about anything I have planned for the rest of the story. You can decide for yourself whether or not that's torture. :P_

_**Jenny:** Kin Won was important because he was the leader of the colony, and usually it's not a good idea to attack someone/something that's organized and united. _

_**Mel:** No, Kin Won stays dead. And stop talking about an earthquake! I don't want to know when I'm going to die! _

Chapter 14

"He's dead," Andros repeated softly, the words foreign to him. "Kin Won is dead."

"He is," Tykwa confirmed. "We will grieve for him... but we have larger concerns."

"The Overlords," Ashley put in. "They'll have heard?"

"I imagine so," Tykwa confirmed. "So far, they have sent their soldiers in their places, but I fear that they will not do so any longer."

"I'll have the rangers be on a constant alert," Andros promised, the words sounding hollow to him, but apparently convincing Tykwa. "We've been in worse situations."

"We were united then," Tykwa informed him and Andros stared at her in confusion.

"Aren't we now?"

"Kin Won never named a successor."

Ashley exhaled slowly. "They won't accept you?"

"Most will," she said. "But it only takes one to betray the entire colony."

"Are there any that would?" Andros questioned.

Tykwa shrugged. "We'll know soon."

The alarms suddenly blared. Andros and Ashley glanced at each other in alarm. "They didn't waste any time," Andros muttered, as the image on the viewing screen split in two. Half remained Tykwa's worried face, and the other half was filled with the image of Skylar, Ximena, and Spyridon, standing directly in front of three armored figures that had to be the Overlords.

"Deca, get the rangers," Ashley ordered, her voice suddenly small. Deep in her heart, she already knew that they couldn't win this.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"All right, you guys," Ryan said shakily, staring at their enemies. "We can do this."

"Yeah," Matt said dubiously. "If we keep fighting."

The Overlord Ciela laughed. Her voice was cold as ice as she nudged Spyridon forward. "It's time to finish this once and for all."

"I agree," Idris said, and Skylar stepped forward.

"Then attack!" Ailbhe cried, and all six sprang forward at once. It was clear from the start that the rangers were outmatched, and although they struggled to even the odds against themselves, they quickly realized that they were fighting a losing battle, one that they were only determined to drag out as long as they could.

"You're never going to win," Ryan grunted, the words hollow as he took a blow squarely in the stomach. Ximena laughed.

"We already have."

"You have not," Ryan gasped out, pushing himself to his feet again. "We're still alive, aren't we?"

"It does not matter if you are alive or not," Ximena told him. "The Overlords won this battle fourteen years ago. This is merely a rematch that will end in your deaths."

"We were not here fourteen years ago," Ryan said. "That makes a difference."

"But not enough of one," Ximena retorted, driving the end of her staff into his chest. "As you can see."

"Leave him alone!" Tempest cried, blocking Ximena's next blow.

"Out of my way, child," Ximena ordered, pushing past her as Ryan recovered. "He's getting nothing more than he deserves."

"You think I'd stand aside and let you kill my brother?" Tempest demanded, finding enough strength in her small body to send Ximena sprawling. Drawing her Star Slinger, she took aim, only to have the weapon knocked from her hand an instant later as Skylar came to Ximena's rescue, wrenching Tempest's left arm as she caught her in a chokehold.

"Let her go!" Mira cried, knocking Skylar from behind as Ciaran attacked from the side. Skylar was forced to release Tempest, but Ximena caught her, twisting her around again to receive a hard hit to the chest. Tempest fell to the ground, her suit vanishing in a shower of yellow sparkles as Damien moved in and dragged her away, pulling her to her feet at the same time.

"You are not a bad fighter, little sister," Skylar said with a twisted grin. "But not good enough."

Tempest's already pale face went completely ashen as she realized that Skylar's words were directed towards her. "S-s-sister?"

"Your precious Auntie never told you?" Ximena taunted. "What a surprise..."

"That's enough," Ryan shouted, leaping forward again, his Spiral Saber crashing down on Skylar's shoulder. She fell back, but caught his arm as the next blow came down.

"You wouldn't kill me, now would you, brother?"

Ryan hesitated, and then charged at her again. "I suppose you think I'd let you win if you could convince me that I'm your brother? We're all your brothers and sisters, is that it?"

"No," Skylar informed him calmly, dodging his next blow. "But it obviously makes no difference to you."

"Why should it?" Ryan growled. "You're lying. Tempest might believe you, but I don't."

"Ryan, no!" Tempest shouted, catching his arm as he made to fire with his powered up Spiral Saber. "Don't do this."

"Tem, get off!" Ryan snapped, trying to break free of her grasp. "You don't know what you're doing."

"No, you don't know," Tempest snapped back. "If there's a chance that she's telling the truth, don't do this."

"We've given you enough to think about," Ximena said.

"We'll meet again soon, rangers," Ailbhe said, and then they vanished.

"Deca," Ryan said, "get us out of here."


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: If I haven't already told you that it belongs to me, then it is the property of Saban, Disney, or whover I borrowed it from.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Nope, Tem's not confused... and it gets even better:P_

_**Juzblue:** You're not the only one... I think I'm going to get murdured or something._

_**Mz. Daydream:** Skylar told Tempest that she was her sister, and then she told Ryan that he was her brother. Don't worry, Andros and Ashley will have plenty of moments... but they won't all be happy. _

_**Jenny:** Yeah, I really liked that twist in PRIS. Um, I won't say anything about Ryan and his sisters until after you read this chapter. :P_

_**Mel:** Three projects? Wow. I have no idea what a responding variable is, so I can't help you there, sorry. :P_

Chapter 15

"We should do **something**," Ashley said for what felt like the thousandth time. "We should at least find out what's wrong, you know."

"Probably," Andros agreed with a sigh, glancing at Ashley. She was five and a half months pregnant now, and he wouldn't have disagreed with her for anything less than a considerable sum of money. "I just don't want to push them, Ash."

"It's been three weeks," Ashley reminded him. "I think they need to be pushed."

Andros sighed. "You're right."

"Pity the yellow ranger is his sister," Zhane remarked. Andros glared at him as he continued cheerfully, "Or else we'd know exactly how to solve this problem... and every other problem that could possibly exist... "

"Zhane," said Ashley with a sigh. "Shut up."

"Right," Zhane said, still annoyingly cheerful. "Seriously, you guys, I'm all for talking to them, but I don't think I should be the one to do it."

"And why not?" Andros asked.

"I can think of several reasons," Karone put in dryly. "But the most relevant is that they respond best to you two. You're their colors, and somehow, that makes a much bigger difference than if I were to talk to them."

"Yeah," Ashley said slowly. "I guess that makes sense."

"Of course it does," Karone smirked. "Now go find out why they've been so reluctant to fight for the last three weeks."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Deca, where is Ryan?" Ashley asked as the Megaship appeared around her.

"He is in his room," Deca replied.

Ashley sighed and started walking, shooting a glance at Andros over his shoulder. "Let's just hope he's not like you. I really don't feel like breaking down any doors."

As it turned out, they didn't need to. When Ashley knocked on the door, there was no reply. Muffled voices floated to them from inside, and a moment later the door opened, revealing Ryan sitting sulkily on his bunk, his arms crossed against his chest, and Tempest laying on the top bunk, her upper body hanging over the side as she tried to get Ryan to talk.

"I'm not talking to you," Ryan said bluntly. "You're just wasting your time."

"I'll talk," Tempest said, glaring at her brother. "Sit down."

She gestured to the chairs that were shoved into the corner. Ashley sank down into one gratefully, but Andros remained standing. "What's going on?"

"They don't need to know," Ryan said sharply as Tempest opened her mouth. "This is between you and me, and Skylar, if she's not lying."

"Lying about what?" Ashley asked warily. "What's happened to you guys?"

"Skylar, she..." Tempest spoke softly and hesitantly before bursting out angrily, "she said she's my sister! Ryan's too!"

Ashley's eyes shot towards Andros. He watched them for several minutes with his eyes narrowed before he sighed and sat down as well. "So you think Skylar's your sister?"

"Yes," Tempest said just as Ryan said, "No!"

"I wouldn't want to believe it, either," Andros said quietly to Ryan. "I didn't want to believe it, even when I knew it was true. Astronema refused to until there was absolutely no other choice."

"Astronema was your sister?" Ryan asked increduously. "Karone was Astronema?"

Andros sighed, and nodded. "She was. We managed to bring her back to our side, only to lose her again to Dark Specter. He brainwashed her, and in our final battle, I... I killed her. Zordon's wave brought her back."

"Wow," Tempest said softly. "Do you think we can bring Skylar back?"

"If you can get through to her, anything can happen," Ashley said. "It took us awhile, but we got through to Karone."

"Well, that's certainly something to think about," Ryan said. "I think I need to do that. Alone."

"We'll go," Ashley said, taking his unsubtle hint. "If you really think about it."

"Oh, I will," Ryan muttered.

"Bye," Tempest said dully as Andros and Ashley slipped out of the room. The instant the door closed, she rounded on Ryan. "What the hell's wrong with you?"

"Tem-"

"They were trying to help us," she shouted. "They could have helped us, if you'd have just let them."

"No," Ryan said sharply. "We have to leave them out of this."

"Why?" Tempest demanded. "Why can't you let someone help us?"

"I'll show you why," Ryan said unexpectedly. "Deca, are Andros and Ashley off of the Megaship?"

"Affirmative," the AI answered them.

"Then come on," Ryan said, standing up and heading out of the door. Tempest jumped down from the top bunk, her face changing colors at an alarming rate as blood began circulating properly again. She followed Ryan onto the bridge, sitting beside him as he fiddled with the controls. "Deca, play every battle against the Overlords."

"**Every** battle?" Tempest repeated increduously. "Ry-"

"Shh," he said. "Just watch Skylar."

So she did. Several hours later, Tempest had had enough, and reached out to pause the footage manually.

"No more," she insisted. "What's so important?"

"Were you watching Skylar?"

"I've been staring at her for the past five hours!" Tempest shrieked. "What am I supposed to see?"

"How does she fight?" Ryan asked her.

Tempest rolled her eyes at him, but answered. "She's very focused. Focused enough that taunting us doesn't distract her."

"Okay," Ryan said slowly. "That's one thing. Anything else?"

"Ryan," Tempest said warningly. "If you don't tell me what's so important, I might just save the Overlords the trouble of killing you."

"All right, all right, calm down," Ryan said, sensing that he was pushing her patience far past its normal limits. "Did you see how Skylar and Ximena always block for each other but ignore Spyridon almost completely?"

"Yeah, actually, I did," Tempest said. "So?"

"Isn't that a little odd?"

"You've watched this before, haven't you?" Tempest accused him.

"About five dozen times in the last three weeks," Ryan confirmed. "I don't want to believe it, but there's not much choice."

"Believe what?" Tempest said. "That Skylar is our sister? You didn't need to force me to watch this for five hours to see that! I believed her!"

"Skylar will always block for Ximena," Ryan said, "because they are sisters."

"We have **another** sister?" Tempest cried. "Another **evil** sister?"

"I think so."

"You **think**?" Tempest shouted. "You'd better **know** before you start telling me this stuff!"

"If Skylar was telling us the truth, that makes us blood brother and sister," Ryan said. "Did you think of that?"

"Do I look like an idiot? Of course I did! Ryan, just tell me whatever it is that you're trying to get me to see."

"I can't," Ryan said. "If I point it out to you, you won't believe it, and you'll think I'm crazy."

"I already think that!"

"Fine," Ryan said. "Did you hear Aidan ask me what happened to my sister?"

"No," Tempest said. "What'd you tell him?"

"I told him that I'd had a sister about the same age as the twins," he said. "But then I kept seeing myself holding a baby. The memories were so fuzzy I wasn't even sure that they were real... but now I know that they are."

"All right," Tempest said. "So if I was the baby, then who's the other one? You're trying to convince me that both Skylar and Ximena are our sisters, but you only remember one."

"No," Ryan said. "They just looked too much alike for me to remember that there were two of them."

"Twins?" Tempest repeated. Ryan nodded, and Tempest blanched as she saw what Ryan was pointing at, and she agreed with at least one thing he had said. "You **are** crazy!"

"I don't think so."

"Ryan," Tempest said. "This is all too convenient, don't you think? You having these memories when a month ago you had nothing! Skylar put you under a spell or something!"

"Oh, I'm sure that someone put me under a spell," Ryan said. "But I very much doubt that it was Skylar. Why else would Auntie send us back, Tempest?"

"We... we had to stop the Overlords," Tempest said, her voice suddenly small. In the space of a minute, now she was the one in denial, as Ryan was trying to make her see the truth.

"We could have stopped them there, and you know it," Ryan said quietly. "She didn't need to send us back. But she did."

"But..."

"Think, Tempest," Ryan said. "What else are we doing fourteen years in the past? There's no future now, except the one that we make now."

"This is crazy," Tempest said, shaking her head. "We can't do this! If we failed the first time, what makes you think we can make a difference now?"

"I was eight the first time!" Ryan exclaimed. "You were four weeks old!" In a softer voice, he added, "I thought your name was Sara."

"Sara," Tempest repeated. "That's pretty."

"I was wrong," Ryan said. "It wasn't Sara."

"Ryan, tell me my name!" Tempest insisted, on the verge of hysteria. "I want to know who I am!"

"Your name," Ryan said with an oddly twisted smile, "is Seren."


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: If I haven't told you that it's mine, then it's Saban's or Disney's or whoever I borrowed it from.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** I know it's the same name. It's supposed to be. _

_**Mel:** Yay, you did two projects! I hate pop quizzes. They're stupid. Don't the teachers already know that no one listens:P_

_**Juzblue:** Yeah, they're from the future. If you think that was a surprise, just wait until you read this chapter. You might of gotten it from the last chapter, I couldn't tell from the review. :P_

_**Mz. Daydream:** I love Tempest, too. I'm being so evil, but not all the Andros and Ashley parts will be sad. _

_**Jenny:** Yay! I told you someday I'd write something that you didn't guess! And you didn't guess! I even told you everything in the last chapter. The last sentence! All right, I'm done gloating now. And you did guess all the little things. You just missed the really big obvious one. :P Don't worry, this chapter is to help out anyone who missed what I was saying in the last chapter. _

_**C.C.C:** Yup, it is. _

_**the-power-of-love:** You're probably right. Here's more, so you can find out._

_**DizneeDol: **I'm glad you know what's going on. I thought I made it easy for you this time. :P_

Chapter 16

"You think I did **what**?" Karone exclaimed, staring blankly at the child in front of her. "Tempest..."

"Just listen," Tempest pleaded. The yellow ranger was out of breath from her long rant, and stared at her with wild eyes.

"I did listen," Karone said dimly. "It's absolutely crazy... but stranger things have happened."

"So you believe me?" Tempest said hopefully.

Karone sighed. "There's only one way to find out... Deca, get all the rangers in here."

"Ryan's going to kill me," Tempest muttered. "I wasn't supposed to tell anyone."

"He wanted this kept a secret?" Karone asked increduously. "What's wrong with him?" She sighed. "Never mind. If you're telling the truth, he gets it from his father."

"I'm telling the truth," Tempest insisted.

Karone sighed. "Then he gets it from his father?"

"Who gets what from his father? Oh, hey, Karone."

"Hi, Ciaran," Karone said, shock still present in her voice.

"Um," Tempest said. "This is gonna sound funny, but..."

"Wait," Karone said wearily. "Please? I don't want to do this five times."

"I didn't think of that," Tempest said with a sheepish smile. "Sure, we can wait."

"Wait for what?" Ciaran asked curiously. "Tem, whatcha do?"

"Um," Tempest said again. "Ryan and I found out something, and then I um, I kinda told her everything."

"Everything?" Mira asked, breezing onto the bridge, her dirty blond hair flying behind her. "Like, everything, everything?"

"Yeah," Tempest said. At Mira's look, she added defensively, "I had to!"

"What did you have to do?"

Tempest groaned as Damien appeared. "I'll tell you when everyone shows up."

"I'm here!" Melanie cried, running in. "I'm not late, am I? What's going on?"

"Who's missing?" Karone asked. "Just Ryan and Matt?"

"I'm here," Matt said. "Just Ryan."

"He doesn't need to be here," Tempest said decisively. "He'll flip, and he already knows."

"All right, then," Karone said. She turned to the assembled rangers. "Tempest told me that you're from the future." She rushed on before they could comment, "And there's a lot that you need to know."

"Like what?" Matt asked, glancing at Tempest warily. "We weren't supposed to tell anyone-"

"I can keep a secret," Karone assured him. "No one would believe me if I told them, anyway. Listen to me now, all right?"

"Do we have a choice?"

Karone ignored him. "If you were sent from the future, then it's obvious to me that you were meant to stop the Overlords before they take over the known universe. Since you were children when it happened, you weren't given the Power, and the Overlords won."

"Yeah, we know," Melanie said. "That's what Auntie told us before she sent us back here."

Karone stared at the girl in front of her for a long time. _Chandra,_ she thought dimly. "There were some things that she - that I - didn't tell you."

"You?" Melanie repeated blankly. "But-"

"How?" Ciaran cut in. "How's that possible?"

"I'm a sorceress," Karone said. "I was Astronema. I guess that saved me... and you guys."

"You do look kinda like her," Damien said thoughtfully. "Wow."

"Mira," Karone said quietly. "Are you a sorceress?"

Mira looked startled at the question. "I have magic, if that's what you mean. So does Matt... We were never really taught to use it, though."

_Zora and Kaden._

Karone was starting to feel lightheaded. "There's really no easy way to tell you this," she said. "But you are all children of Power Rangers."

"Awesome," Ciaran said. He frowned. "Why's that a bad thing?"

"It's not," Karone said. "It's just... you're the children of the Astro Rangers."

"But the Astro Rangers are..." Damien started to protest. Then he realized what she was saying. "Oh."

"But that means that we're those kids..." Melanie said. "And there were more of them that us..."

"Skylar and Ximena," Tempest said. "And Spyridon too, I guess."

Karone cast a sharp look at Damien. _Murchadh?_she wondered. _Or Diego?_

"So we're fighting against our family?" Mira asked.

"Yeah," Tempest said, nodding. "We can't lose, you guys."

"Tempest," Karone said. "It's more complicated than that... the Overlords know now, what I did. If they manage to invade KO-35, your past selves are in danger, not only you."

"Can we get them to live on the Megaship?" Melanie wondered.

"Not without a convincing explanation," Karone said. "And this is just my opinion, but if you were to tell any of the former rangers, especially TJ and Andros, they'd not only lock up their children somewhere, they'd try to bring you along with them."

"So you think we shouldn't tell them?" Tempest asked.

"I don't know what to think," Karone admitted. "You guys decide for yourselves... but keep in mind that you're running out of time."


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: If I haven't told you that it's mine, then it belongs to Saban or Disney or whoever I told you I borrowed it from.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** So you like it then? Oh good, I was wondering how you'd react to being turned evil. :P_

_**Mel:** Yeah, you didn't tell. :P Your school can't be the poorest in the state. I think mine is. :P_

_**Juzblue:** Nope, they're not dead... although it doesn't really matter, since we're staying in the present. _

_**Mz. Daydream:** Yeah, Karone was the one who sent them. The other rangers will be back in the story, but not for a few more chapters... and here's a whole chapter of A/A-ness. :P_

_**the-power-of-love:** Yay, you were right! Here's more. :P_

_**Jenny:** Nope, you're not Skylar. I let Marieke choose. :P Why couldn't you have thought of Andros and Ashley being the Overlords before? That's a really good idea, and now I'm too far into the story to use it! Oh well, now I've got a story for the one after the one after the one after the next one. :P_

Chapter 17

"Done," Ashley said, nearly collapsing on the floor of the new nursery. The walls were a cheerful yellow, and all the trim was a bright red. A somewhat battered crib that had once been white, but was now more like gray stood in one corner, lined with stuffed animals of various stages of wear. There was a changing table in another corner, and a dresser in another, filled with as many clothes as Ashley had been able to carry.

"It looks great, Ash," Andros said with a grin, watching as Ashley admired her handiwork even as her exhaustion started to set in. "But we didn't have to do this in one afternoon, you know."

Ashley shrugged. "What else was I supposed to do today? Aidan's at school, Jenny and Marieke were practically stolen by Ryan and Tempest, and you were supposed to be at work."

"Tykwa told us to take a few days off," Andros said with a sigh, his eyes darkening for a moment. "She thinks we'll need it before an official announcement is made naming her the new leader of the colony."

"KO-35 won't fall apart," Ashley said confidently, although she was biting her lip with anxiety. "It's stronger than that."

"You're right, Ash," Andros quickly agreed, seeing the worried expression on her face. Why had he even said anything? Ashley didn't need to worry about KO-35 erupting into a civil war on top while it was simultaneously invaded by the Overlords. "We'll be fine."

"I know we will," Ashley said with a weary smile. "Come on, it's been weeks since we've had time alone together. What do you want to do?"

"I think you should rest, Ash," Andros said gently, catching her in his arms as she passed him on her way out the door. When Ashley didn't protest, he realized just how tired she must have been, and wondered why he hadn't noticed earlier. When he'd gotten home from work, the nursery had been half done, and he started to wonder how long Ashley had been working.

"I'm hungry," Ashley said suddenly, turning around and heading down the stairs. Andros followed her and convinced her to sit down on the couch and let him bring her some food. The anxious feeling in the pit of his stomach grew as Ashley only picked at her food, despite claiming to be starving.

"Ashley, are you feeling all right?" he asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," Ashley said, setting her food on the table next to the couch as Andros sank down beside her, wrapping her in his arms.

"Are you sure?" Andros asked. Her entire body was much too tense, and he could clearly see dark circles under her eyes. How had he not noticed before? No matter how busy he was, Ashley should have come first.

"I'm fine," Ashley insisted, pushing him away just the slightest bit, but more than enough for Andros to take notice. "Don't worry about me so much, all right?"

Andros nodded his head uncertainly. "If you're sure you're okay."

"I'm fine," Ashley said again, now sounding exasperated and more than a little annoyed. "Really, Andros. If something was wrong, I'd tell you."

"I know," Andros said softly, giving her an unreadable look. He sighed and kissed her temple, pulling her back into his arms, ready to let go if she resisted. She didn't, and he held her close, knowing that she wasn't okay, but also knowing that he couldn't force it out of her. He started rubbing small circles in her stomach, and he felt her gradually relax against him, but not enough for his worry to abate.

"I love you," he heard Ashley whisper suddenly.

"I love you, Ashley," he whispered back. Tears started to roll out of her eyes and he pulled her as close to him as he could, cradling her in his arms as she buried her face in his chest. "It's all right," he said softly, rocking her back and forth. "Ash, what's wrong?"

"I don't know," Ashley cried, clinging to him. "I just keep feeling like something bad is going to happen."

"It's all right," Andros repeated, wiping her tears away with the back of his hand as she struggled to compose herself. "Talk to me?"

It was a question more than a request, and for a moment, Ashley was tempted to ignore it. Andros didn't need her adding her nightmares to his worries, but she found herself speaking nonetheless.

"I'm just scared," she whispered, meeting his eyes only when he grasped her chin and forced her to. "I don't know why, but I am. I keep imagining all these awful things happening. I keep seeing you and Aidan and Jenny and Marieke and this baby being taken away from me, and I know it's not real, but it feels like it is, and it's starting to drive me crazy."

Ashley was out of breath by the time she was done, and Andros sighed, holding her wordlessly for a long time before saying anything. "I'm scared too, Ash," he admitted, his grip on her tightening as he spoke. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost any of you, and as much as I hope I'll never have to find out, something tells me that I'm going to."

"I can't lose you, Andros," Ashley whispered, on the verge of tears again. Andros leaned down to kiss her before he spoke again.

"I can't lose you either, Ash," he said quietly, and for a moment, Ashley wondered if she wasn't seeing tears in his own eyes. "I want you to promise me something."

"What?" Ashley asked, her eyes locked into his.

"Promise me that no matter what happens, you'll stay alive," he whispered. "No matter what you have to do, no matter what anyone does to you, you have to survive."

"Andros..."

"Promise me," Andros pleaded. "I know that there are some things that you'd rather die than do, and I know how selfish I'm being by asking you, but I... I can't live without you, Ash."

"Promise me the same," Ashley said, reaching out to take his hand. "I need you just as much as you need me. Our children need us. We have to stay alive for them, and for each other."

"I promise," Andros whispered, his hold on her hand painfully strong. "As long as you do."

Ashley swallowed hard and buried her face in his neck, wondering if it was possible for them to stay there for the rest of their lives and never let each other go. Her voice was muffled, but it carried at least as far as Andros's ears.

"I promise."


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: If I haven't already said it's mine, then it's Saban's or Disney's or whoever's I said it was.

_**Mel:** Thanks... so your school isn't poor? If they lose enough money, then the school has to close, and then no more school! I wish... :P_

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Thanks. It's all right, I need sleep to. That's why I didn't update yesterday. I fell asleep as soon as I got home from school. :P_

_**Juzblue:** Maternal instinct plus ranger instinct. This story might go off in a darker direction for a few chapters. :P_

_**Mz. Daydream:** Yes, Ryan and Tempest know that Jenny and Marieke are Skylar and Ximena. They've sort of become bodyguard for the twins, to keep the Overlords from getting to them. Andros and Ashley and the others will find out later. I've got it all planned out, sorta. :P_

_**C.C.C:** You won't know where the rangers parents are at the end of the fourteen years, when the rangers get sent back in time, but you'll see what happens at the beginning of the fourteen years. _

_**Jenny:** I did title the chapters, until I spent more time thinking of a name for the chapter than I did writing it... Andros and Ashley can't be the Overlords. I've got other plans for them... Yeah, Skylar's gold, and Ximena's crimson. I'll have them talk in this chapter. I was starting to run out of ideas, thanks:P_

_**the-power-of-love:** Thanks, here's more._

Chapter 18

Ximena cast a worried glance at her twin, and groaned. "What's the matter now?"

"The rangers," Skylar said. "Fighting them seems... wrong."

"A lot of things are wrong," Ximena said with a shrug. "We do them anyway."

"But they're our family," Skylar protested.

"No," Ximena snapped. "We are family. Spyridon is family. They are not family."

"Ximena-"

"Skylar, listen to me," Ximena said firmly. "If Ailbhe or Idris hear us, we'll never be trusted again. They rescued us from that life, remember?"

"No," Skylar said sadly. "I don't. I don't remember much of anything."

"Neither do I," Ximena admitted after a moment. "But they wouldn't have taken us if we hadn't been in danger of something, Skylar. Don't you trust them?"

"Of course I do," Skylar exclaimed. "If they say something, it must be the truth... but maybe they made a mistake?"

"The Overlords don't make mistakes," Ximena said stubbornly, but something deep inside of her knew that it was a lie.

"Spyridon," Skylar shouted, and their black-clad 'brother' appeared in the doorway. "Where were you going?"

"Ciela gave me a new mission," he said. He paused thoughtfully. "Actually, it's the same mission. I just haven't completed it."

"Which mission?" Ximena demanded. "Why just you?"

Spyridon shrugged. "I don't know. Ciela told me that this mission was for me alone, and Ailbhe and Idris agreed with her."

"What's the mission?" Ximena repeated. "Come on, just tell us!"

"They want me to kill the yellow ranger."

"Which one?" Ximena asked, ignoring the look on her twin's face as she feigned curiosity. "The current one or her mother?"

"Both," Spyridon said. "Since the older yellow ranger is seven and a half months pregnant with the current one, it has to be both."

"Have fun," Ximena said with a wicked grin as Spyridon teleported himself away.

"Ximena!" Skylar exclaimed. "You can't... this..."

"Isn't right?" Ximena finished with a sigh. "I know. But what can we do about it?"

"We could stop him," Skylar suggested, her hand already reaching towards her gold-hilted sword.

"We could," Ximena said thoughtfully. "But should we? If we stop Spyridon, the rangers will kill us, if Spyridon and the Overlords don't beat them to it."

"We'd only have to worry about the Overlords," Skylar said. "Spyridon wouldn't hurt us, and the rangers are too trusting for their own good."

"You're actually considering this?"

"It's our mother," Skylar pointed out, watching resignation spread itself across Ximena's face. "And our sister."

"They're not..." Ximena started to say, and sighed. "Maybe you're right."

"Then let's go," Skylar pleaded. "Before it's too late."

"Skylar, we can't rush into this," Ximena protested. "We're supposed to be killing them, not saving them."

"But if we don't do anything, then they'll be dead in five minutes," Skylar retorted. "We don't have to join them... just keep Spyridon from killing them. We can go in disguise. He won't have to know who we are."

"He will, though," Ximena pointed out. "Maybe we shouldn't..."

"Ximena!"

"Let me think for a minute."

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"Daddy, come on!" Jenny insisted, tugging on Andros's arm. "I'm hungry."

"Me too!" Marieke said, climbing into his lap. "I wanna go out to dinner now!"

Andros looked at the pile of work he should be doing with a rueful grin and stood up, setting Marieke down on the floor as he took each girl by the hand. The three of them walked into the kitchen were Aidan and Ashley were waiting for them.

"Ready?" Andros asked.

"Only for the last three hours," Ashley teased him gently. "You work too much, you know."

"That's what I keep you guys around for," Andros said with a grin.

Ashley pouted at him. "That's all we're good for? To keep you from working too hard?"

Andros smirked at her, wrapping one arm around her waist as he rested his other hand on her pregnant belly. "And I love all of you. Better?"

"Much better," Ashley said with a wide smile. Andros gently kissed her nose, suddenly aware that Aidan was making faces at them. Ashley laughed, slipping one arm around his waist. "Relax, Aidan, we're going now."

"Finally!" Aidan shouted, dashing out the door, reappearing a moment later, his face pale. "Dad, someone's out there."

Andros's grin vanished instantly, and he let go of Ashley, shoving Aidan behind him as he moved over to the doorway. The instant he stepped outside, he found himself throwing up his arms to block Spyridon's attacking blow.

"Dad!" Aidan shouted.

"Aidan, take your sisters and go to the Megaship," Ashley ordered him. "There's a communicator upstairs on my nightstand."

"But what about you?" Aidan asked as Ashley grabbed the twins and ran upstairs. "You're not going to stay here, are you?"

Ashley sighed, wrapping her arms around the two whimpering girls as best she could. _"Andros, I-"_

_"Go!"_ he shouted back at her. _"I'm all right."_

"Come on," Ashley said as they reached the top of the stairs. Aidan ran ahead of them into the bedroom and emerged a moment later, clutching Ashley's communicator in his hand. "Deca-"

_"Ashley, look out!"_

Ashley whirled, nearly throwing the twins at Aidan as Spyridon appeared only a few feet away from them. She threw up her arms to block one of his punches, and realized too late that he had fooled her. He drove his other fist hard into her stomach, laughing as Ashley kneeled over.

"Mom!" Aidan shouted.

"Go," Ashley gasped. "I'm all right."

Andros recovered as Aidan, Jenny, and Marieke vanished in streaks of red and yellow light, and reached Ashley and Spyridon just as Ashley started screaming.

"Leave her alone," he shouted, shoving himself between Ashley and Spyridon. "Get out of my house."

"That child must not live," Spyridon shouted. "It cannot survive."

"If you've hurt my child, I will kill you," Andros said, his voice a low, threatening growl. "If you ever touch my wife again, I will kill you."

"Touching," Spyridon remarked lightly. "But I've already killed your child, and if I'm lucky, your wife too."

Andros was nearly completely blinded with rage, and he would have certainly been killed if something hadn't stopped Spyridon as he moved towards Andros. Two figures, both tall and slender appeared between Andros and Spyridon, wrestling him back. All three of them vanished, a sudden silence falling.

Not bothering to wonder what had happened, Andros knelt down by Ashley's side, gently helping her into a sitting position. Ashley's screams had died down into whimpers of pain and fear, and she was clutching her stomach, her eyes wide with terror.

"Ash, what's wrong?" Andros asked, his heart nearly stopping as he saw blood.

"I think I'm in labor," Ashley whispered, trembling all over. "I hope I'm in labor. Or else the baby..."

"Shh," Andros said, forcing himself to sound calm. "Don't worry, Ash. The baby just decided to come a little early, that's all. Let's get you to a hospital, all right?"

Ashley nodded weakly, his voice calming her more than his words. She knew it was six weeks too soon. Not even the twins had come this early, and twins were supposed to be born early. She held her stomach as tears started to roll down her cheeks. The baby couldn't be dying...

"Come on, Ash," Andros said. "Can you stand?"

"No," she whispered, crying out as a contraction hit her, much more painful than it should have been. The world seemed to be spinning, nothing standing in place for more than a second. Ashley was dimly aware of Andros wrapping her in a blanket and lifting her up into his arms, and then darkness overwhelmed her, pulling her under even as she struggled against it.

Ashley had passed out by the time Andros had settled her gently into the car, and he drove recklessly, unable to think of anything but Spyridon's taunting that he'd already killed their child, and Ashley as well.

"Hold on, Ash," he said, reaching for her hand as she stirred a little. "We're almost there. It's all going to be all right."


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: If I haven't said that it's mine, then it's Saban's or Disney's or whoever's I borrowed it from.

_**Mz. Daydream:** Don't worry, the baby's going to be fine. I just needed her to be born now, so I can get to the rest of the story. Andros and Ashley will find out, but they'll be the last to know, and that won't be for awhile. I love protective Andros too. :P_

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Duh, they'll both survive. :P_

Chapter 19

Ashley was struggling to stay calm, but every time another contraction hit her, panic rose up with in her. It hadn't hurt this much with any of the other three, and fear that there was something horribly wrong nearly overwhelmed her.

"You have to really push now," the doctor told her.

She tried, and it felt like her body was being torn in two. "I can't," she wailed. "It hurts too much."

"You're almost there, Ash," Andros said, squeezing her hands. "Everything's all right. It's almost over."

"If it's all right, then why does it hurt so much?" Ashley cried, leaning aginst the arm Andros had wrapped around her shoulder. "Something's wrong, I know it!"

"Some babies come easier than others," the doctor assured her. "This one is just a little harder than most, and it's almost here."

Ashley stared at them both uncertainly, but calmed a little, and the next push was a little less agonizing. Andros kissed the side of her head, whispering softly in her ear. Ashley didn't register any of what he said to her, but the calmness of his voice sunk in. She knew that nothing mattered more to Andros than his family, and if he was so calm right now, she figured that everything must be all right.

"One more push," the doctor told her. "You're almost there."

Ashley wailed with pain but pushed hard, her body straining forward as she struggled to deliver the baby. A moment later, she fell back against Andros's arm, gasping, rewarded with the cries of a newborn baby.

"It's a girl," the doctor announced, placing the baby in Ashley's arms for a moment before saying, "We're going to take her to get cleaned up now, and we'll want to watch her carefully for the next few days, just to be sure that she's all right."

"Okay," Ashley whispered, hating to relinquish her daughter even for a moment. Reluctantly she handed the girl over to a nurse.

"While the baby's getting cleaned up, we're going to get you out of the delivery room, and into a real room, all right?" another nurse said cheerfully. Ashley nodded dazedly and looked up at Andros, who squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"It's all right, Ash," he whispered, kissing the side of her head. "The baby's fine."

Ashley nodded again, nearly crushing his hand in hers as she started sobbing with relief. She buried herself in his chest, tears streaming down her cheeks as Andros held her close, the familiar warmth of his body more comforting than anything he could have said. He stroked her hair gently, fighting back tears of his own.

"Shh," he said soothingly, rocking her back and forth. "It's all right, Ash. It's all right."

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"Here she is," the nurse announced, placing the baby girl in Andros's arms. He cradled his daughter carefully, slowly sitting down beside Ashley on her bed as the nurse closed the door behind her, giving them some privacy.

"She's beautiful," Andros said softly, placing a kiss on his daughter's forehead. Ashley smiled and leaned against his arm, still crying a little. Andros shifted the baby into her arms, wrapping his own arms around Ashley.

"I love you," Ashley whispered to the little girl staring up at her with wide hazel eyes. "Seren."

Andros's smile grew wider, and he pulled Ashley closer to him, gently stroking Seren's arm with his thumb. She was alarmingly small, but her eyes were bright as she stared up at her parents, and every now and then she flexed her small hands.

"I love you," Andros said softly, echoing Ashley's words. His gaze flickered to her for a moment. "I love you, Ash."

"I love you too," Ashley murmured, leaning her head against his shoulder. She paused and added, "Thanks for keeping me calm."

"I kept you calm?" Andros asked, a trace of amusement in his eyes.

"I was being serious," Ashley said, making a face at him.

"I know," Andros said quickly. "It's just... I wasn't calm, Ash. I was so scared that I was going to lose both of you. Spyridon said he'd killed both of you, and I..."

His voice trailed off and he swallowed hard, not wanting to ruin what had been a happy moment a few seconds before. Ashley squeezed his hand and smiled tiredly, her eyelids starting to droop shut. Andros was just about to suggest that she get some rest when Seren wailed suddenly, snapping Ashley wide awake.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" she asked, rocking her back and forth. "Mommy's here... it's all right. You're just hungry, aren't you?"

Seren's cries grew louder, and Ashley hurried to pull down the front of her hospital gown. Seren quieted as she started to nurse, greedily sucking up all the milk she could.

"If she's nursing, that means she's all right, doesn't it?" Andros asked anxiously.

Ashley smiled and nodded, relaxing completely now. "I think so," she said. She paused, something else occuring to her. "Andros? Shouldn't we tell Aidan and the twins that they have a new baby sister?"

Andros looked at her sheepishly. "Probably."

Ashley sighed, and started rocking Seren to sleep. "I'm not allowed to leave this bed, so I guess you should go tell them."

Andros grinned at her, and held up his wrist. "I've got a better idea."

A moment later, Aidan and the twins were standing in front of them. "Mom! Dad!"

"Shh," Andros said quickly, getting off of the bed. He knelt down, wrapping Aidan in his arms before turning to the twins and doing the same. "We're all right."

"Mommy," Jenny said, struggling to get to Ashley. Andros picked her up, setting her down on the bed as she threw her arms around her mother's neck. Ashley returned the hug as best she could.

"You guys aren't supposed to be in here," Andros said. "So keep quiet, all right?"

"Okay," Aidan said, his gaze landing on Ashley. "Why's Mom holding a baby?"

Andros stiffened a laugh. "This is your new baby sister."

"Another sister?" Aidan wailed. "Aww..."

"Her name's Seren," Ashley said.

"I wanna hold her," Jenny said, still sitting next to Ashley.

Ashley hesitated. "If you let Daddy help you."

Slowly, Ashley transferred the sleeping child into Jenny's arms, and Andros placed his hands underneath hers, helping her support the child.

"Why's she tiny?" Marieke asked, climbing onto the bed next to Jenny.

"She was born a little bit early," Andros said, carefully handing Seren back to Ashley. "But you and Jenny weren't much bigger."

"I wasn't tiny," Jenny insisted.

Ashley smiled. "If you say so."

A few minutes later, Andros noticed how exhausted Ashley was. He sent Aidan and the twins back to the Megaship, telling them that he'd be there in a little while, and to get Karone and Zhane to watch them so they wouldn't disturb the rangers.

Ashley nearly collapsed against him as he sat down again. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, Andros held her close to him as she started to doze off, her head resting on his shoulder. Soon both she and Seren were fast asleep. Andros watched them with a smile, now more determined than ever to protect his family.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: If I haven't already told you that it's mine, then it belongs to Saban, Disney, or whoever I tell you it does.

_**Mz. Daydream:** Thanks... I just had to put in that cute scene with all of them together, or else I'd feel really bad about what I do next. :P_

_**Jenny:** You want to kill them because Skylar/Marieke is more toned down that Ximena/you. Toned down people generally don't want to kill other people. I guess I could have had neither of you wanting to kill them, but that didn't occur to me until right now. Sorry... I love pizza too. :P_

_**Juzblue:** Yeah, they're not really all that evil. Good luck on your test. :P_

_**the-power-of-love:** Thanks, here's more. _

Chapter 20

Ryan looked up, frowing as Deca reported a disturbance. Nothing had happened in a month, and a funny feeling suddenly appeared in the pit of his stomach. He already knew that this wasn't going to go well.

"Deca, where are the Overlords?"

There was a long pause. "The Overlords are in the park."

"Deca, what's going on?" Now alarmed, Ryan shot up in his seat, glaring at the blinking red eye until he got a satisfactory answer, albeit one that he did not want to hear.

"The Overlords are in the park," Deca repeated, adding, "They are in command of an army assembled of Quantrons, Putties, and Piranhatrons."

Swearing loudly, Ryan leaped up, flipping open his morpher. "Deca, get the others in here!"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ashley looked up in alarm, clutching Seren to her chest as an explosion sounded, much too close for comfort. Andros was at her side in seconds, tugging on her arm, pulling her up.

"Let's go," he said anxiously, shouting, "Aidan!"

"What?"

"Get down here!" Andros shouted back, reaching for his communicator. "Now!"

"What's the matter?" Aidan asked, grumbling as he appeared in the room.

"There's a battle going on outside," Ashley said tersely. "Where are your sisters?"

Aidan shrugged. "Jenny was trying to get me to play tag."

"They're outside," Ashley whispered, her face paling. "Andros..."

"I'll get them," Andros said, his heart starting to pound. "You three go to the Megaship."

"No," Ashley said firmly. "We'll find them faster with the two of us." Handing month-old Seren carefully to Aidan, she also gave him her communicator. "Have Deca teleport you to the Megaship. No matter what happens, promise you'll stay there."

"I promise," Aidan said solemnly, realizing the situation. "Mom... you're going to come back, right?"

"Yes," Ashley said harshly, swallowing hard. "We're coming back. Now, go."

"We've got to hurry, Ash," Andros said, starting towards the door. "We've got to find them... before someone else does."

"Jenny!" Ashley shouted over the rising din of battle, moving closer by the second. "Marieke!"

She repeated her cry telepathically, but to no avail. The twins had quickly developed blocks as a way to ignore Aidan, and they had a bad habit of ignoring everyone else as well.

"Marieke!" Andros cried. "Where are you?"

"Aidan said they were playing tag," Ashley called over to him. "Do you think they went to the park?"

Without a word, Andros started to run, Ashley following close behind. Andros was trying to keep himself from panicking, but Ashley knew that he was trying very hard not to think about how he'd lost Karone at the same park. The thought of losing her daughters was enough to give her an extra burst of speed.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ciaran groaned as he missed clipping a Piranhatron upside the head and instead took a hard hit to the chest. He stumbled back against Melanie, who threw them both to the ground as a group of Quantrons charged at them.

"Thanks," he gasped, scrambling to his feet again, dodging the Putties with ease. He kicked one hard in the chest, smirking with satisfaction as it crumbled. "Someone should tell the Overlords not to use recycled footsoldiers. We already know how to beat them."

"But we haven't yet," Mira observed, standing shoulder to shoulder with him as Piranhatrons advanced.

"But we will," Tempest said stubbornly. "We **are**."

"Then why are** we** the ones surrounded by **them**?" Matt retorted. Tempest glared at him from behind her visor, but had to admit that he had a point. Things weren't looking so good for the rangers at the moment. They were gravely outnumbered, and with the exception of Ryan, who was miraculously still holding his own, they were quickly growing exhausted.

"We're not giving up," Damien reminded them. "We'll never give up."

"How do you feel about taking breaks?" Tempest asked lightly, leaping at a Quantron with a hurricane kick. "I could sure use one right now."

"Look out!" Ryan shouted, wincing as Tempest staggered back, winded. Damien caught her, supporting her as she gasped for air. Ryan struggled over to the rest of his team, shouting to be heard over the din of battle. "We're not going to be able to hold them off for much longer!"

"We're counting on that," Ciaran said dryly. "What do we do now?"

Before Ryan had a chance to respond, all sides charged at once, and the rangers were forced into one another as blow after blow rained down upon them. Ryan felt his powers being drained much too quickly, and knew that they wouldn't be able to hold out for more than a few moments more.

Matt shouted furiously as his silver suit grew brighter before vanishing, and he found himself fighting powerless and weaponless against an army of enemies who was neither. Melanie was soon doing the same, and Ryan knew what he had to do, before they started sustaining more serious injuries.

The word tasted bitter in his mouth, but they had no option until they had formulated a better plan. Ryan grimaced, and shouted, "Retreat!"


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: If I haven't mentioned that it's mine, then it belongs to Saban, Disney, or whoever I tell you it belongs to.

_**Mz. Daydream:** They're at the park, but I guess it's a really big park, so they don't see the twins. I like stories where I change the future, so things don't work out so well for the Overlords. Things don't work out so well for Andros and Ashley, either... :P_

_**the-power-of-love:** Thanks, here's more._

_**Jenny:** You want to kill people because... um... because you do! Bad answer? How about if I let you save someone:P_

Chapter 21

"What do we do now?" Mira asked, demorphing as the rangers collapsed weakly on the bridge of the Astro Megaship. "We can't hide in here forever."

"We're not supposed to be hiding at all," Tempest said, a trace of bitterness in her voice.

"Would you rather be dead?" Ryan snapped defensively, and sighed. He hadn't wanted to run any more than she had.

"Can we shoot them down from here?" Ciaran wondered. "The Megalasers are powerful enough."

"But there are innocent people down there," Damien reminded him. "We can't go killing the civilians."

"Can't we turn this thing into the Astro Megazord?" Melanie asked.

"No," Deca informed them. "This is the Astro Megaship Mark II. The shuttle, as well as the necessary schematics, were destroyed three years ago in the battle against Trakeena."

"Oh," Melanie said. "Anyone got another idea?"

"Rangers!" Aidan shouted, appearing out of nowhere, still clutching his sister. "You have to help them."

"We're trying, Aidan," Ciaran told him. "We'll find a way."

"No, you don't understand," Aidan shouted. "My parents are down there."

"What?" Ryan cried. "Where?"

"I don't know!" Aidan said, looking about to cry. "They were looking for Jenny and Marieke."

"Tem, you're coming with me," Ryan said, grabbing the yellow ranger by the arm. If one thing was clear to him, it was that they had to keep the Overlords from capturing the twins. He wasn't sure that Skylar and Ximena would vanish, but anything that could possibly even the odds was a chance worth taking. "Deca, fire the Megalasers into all areas empty of human life." He glanced at Aidan. "Where were your sisters?"

"They were playing," Aidan said shakily. "They went outside."

"Deca, where are the Overlords?" Tempest asked suddenly. "We don't have to find the twins. We just have to find the Overlords."

"The Overlords are in the park."

"Then teleport me and Ryan to the park."

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"Jenny!" Ashley shouted, not bothering to keep herself from panicking any longer. "Marieke!"

"Ash!" Andros called, his voice suddenly strangled. Afraid of what she would see, Ashley sprinted to his side, her eyes widening in horror. The gold and crimson Overlords, Idris and Ailbhe, stood before them, grinning, each holding a struggling girl.

"Daddy!" Jenny wailed. "Mommy!"

"Let them go!" Ashley shouted, falling instinctively into a defensive stance.

"Why do you even bother?" Idris sneered at her. He touched one finger to Marieke's forehead and she went limp as Ailbhe did the same to Jenny. "We've got wonderful plans for your daughters, and for you two as well."

Andros had had enough talking, and without a word of warning, he flew at them, not about to let his daughters be taken from him. Ashley was at his side an instant later, and they fell into their old habit of fighting back to back.

It wasn't long before Ashley noticed that she was taking more blows than she was blocking. She struggled to keep up the fight, but it had been over a year since she'd even sparred against Andros.

Andros spun around as he heard Ashley try to force back a scream of pain, catching her as she fell. Unfortunately, this left his back open to attack, and Ailbhe wasted no time in making use of the opportunity. Andros groaned as Ailbhe's hand connected with the back of his neck, slumping forward, stunned.

He fell forward, dragging Ashley with him, the both of them collapsing in a heap on the ground. Ashley shook herself free of his arms, and scrambled to her feet, knowing that the situation was not looking good. Ailbhe was on one side of her, and Idris on another, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw another figure appear.

"Ciela." Idris acknowledged the black Overlord with a curt nod. "Take the children."

"I am not a baby sitter," Ciela snapped back. "I have just enough reason and desire to capture these two as you do."

"True enough," Idris agreed.

"You'll never win," Ashley said stubbornly, although her heart was sinking fast. Andros was still only half conscious, and there was no way that Ashley was going to be able to fight all three of them.

"We already have won," Ailbhe said, his smooth, icy voice sending chills up Ashley's spine. "If you surrender now, you keep your lives."

"If you continue to struggle, we kill your children in front of you," Idris said, barely containing the glee in his voice. "We hope you continue to struggle."

Andros forced himself up, leaning heavily on Ashley as he stood. She was trembling from head to toe, on the verge of tears as the realization that they were trapped hit her hard.

"It's your choice, rangers," Ciela said. "Surrender to us now, or watch your children die slowly."

"Let them go!"

Ashley's heart started beating wildly with relief as she heard Ryan's voice, and a moment later, she saw him, struggling with Ailbhe over Jenny. Tempest appeared out of nowhere to be at his side, attacking Idris. Andros caught her eye and jerked his head slightly in Ciela's direction. Ashley took a deep breath and nodded, unable to put Idris's threat out of her mind.

Tempest managed to wrestle Marieke away from Idris and quickly leaped away from him, walking backward until she bumped into Ryan, never taking her eyes off of Idris.

"Go back to the Megaship," Ryan ordered her.

"But-"

"Go!" Ryan said forcefully. "I'll be right there."

For once in her life, Tempest obeyed, and vanished, taking Marieke with her. Andros breathed a little easier as he saw that one of his daughters was safe, and began putting more force in the blows he managed to land. Ciela blocked him easily and Ashley as well, but they managed to keep her distracted.

"Give me the girl!" Ryan shouted, unable to pry Jenny away from Ailbhe.

"I don't think so, Red Ranger," Ailbhe laughed. "She will be so very useful to me, as you well know."

"She's not yours to brainwash," Ryan spat at him. "She doesn't belong to you."

"I disagree," Ailbhe said camly.

Ryan groaned. He'd managed to catch ahold of Jenny's small waist, but Ailbhe still held her upper and lower body, and Ryan wasn't sure he could pull her out of Ailbhe's grip without harming her.

Ailbhe swore loudly as Andros attacked him from the side, somehow able to wrench his left arm away from Jenny. Ryan twisted around, driving his elbow hard into Ailbhe's stomach, feeling his other hand release Jenny as he concentrated on breathing.

"What are you waiting for?" Andros shouted when he saw Ryan hesitating. "Get her out of here!"

"You-"

"We're fine," Andros said quickly. "We've still got one communicator. Get her out of here."

Ryan nodded and vanished in a streak of red. Andros whirled around, realizing too late that he'd left Ashley fighting alone against all three Overlords. She was still struggling, but so weakly that it was hardly noticable. He fought his way to her side, supporting her as she started to collapse.

"I've got you, Ash," he said in her ear as she moaned. "Let's get out of here."

"You might need this," Ciela said. Andros glanced up and his heart sank as he saw that she held his communicator in her hand. Ciela laughed. "Which of your children do you want to die first? Aidan? Seren?"

"Shut up," Ashley screamed, struggling against Andros as he held her back. "You can't kill my children."

"But we will," Idris said cooly.

Andros had no idea where Ashley found the strength to move as quickly as she did, but she tore herself away from him, heading straight for Ciela. Ashley's sudden movement caught her off-guard, and she didn't react in time. Ashley's hand clenched over the communicator, and she ripped it out of Ciela's hand.

"Deca..." Ashley began, her voice trailing off as she saw Ailbhe's sword at Andros's throat. Her fingers clenched around the communicator, having no doubts that if she spoke another word, she would watch him die. Thinking that she was probably sentencing both of them to death anyway, Ashley flung to communicator to the ground, smashing it beneath her foot.

"That was a foolish thing to do," Ailbhe observed. He released Andros, shoving him forward.

Ashley glared at him as Andros climbed to his feet. "You can't kill my children."

"Maybe not," Idris said. "But the two of you are at our mercy."

"We'll give you one chance," Ailbhe said. "You can't fight us, and you know it. Surrender now, and we'll let you live. Continue to fight, and you'll watch each other die."

Andros's first impulse was to die fighting, as he had always been prepared to do. Then his eyes fell on Ashley standing stiffly next to him, and he met her sad eyes, the fight slowly leaving him.

_"You promised me you'd live,"_ she reminded him plantively. _"Andros, you can't help anyone by dying."_

"Well?" Ailbhe demanded. "We're not going to wait around for you to decide. We've been generous enough as it is."

Andros cast his eyes downward, slowly raising his hands in surrender.


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: If I haven't already said that it's mine, then it belongs to Saban or Disney or whoever I said it does.

_**Red Ranger Chick:** And as if it wasn't torture enough for Andros to surrender, it gets even worse. :P_

_**Mz. Daydream:** If Ashley hadn't made him promise, Andros would have gotten himself killed last chapter. What do I do to them? Don't worry, I won't make you wait to find out._

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Of course you and Jenny are safe. If I'd let the Overlords get you again, then I wouldn't be able to change time and stuff. :P_

_**the-power-of-love:** Thanks, here's more._

_**Jenny:** Nope, Andros and Ashley aren't the Overlords, and you're not a boy... Marieke's still alive... You'd better be working on the next chapter for our story... :P_

_**PinkRanger4Ever:** Thanks, here's more, sorry for the wait._

Chapter 22

"They got them," Mira said, her voice stony. "They got all of them."

"We failed," Ciaran said dully.

"What do we do now?" Melanie asked.

"We keep fighting," Tempest said instantly. "We're not beaten yet."

"But how?" Matt wondered. "The Overlords have KO-35. There's no way we can go back down there and fight and come out alive."

"We're not beaten yet," Tempest repeated firmly. "There's a way out of this. We'll find it."

"We can help." The rangers spun around to see Zhane and Karone stumble onto the bridge, faces darkened with dirt and bruises, but relatively unharmed, as were their children.

"You're alive," Mira cried, jumping up. "We thought you were..."

"Dead?" Karone said with a twisted smile. "If I die, then who sends you back here?"

"Oh," Mira said with a slight grin. "We didn't think of that."

"I'm missing something here," Zhane said, giving his wife a knowing look. "What happened?"

"I'll explain in a minute," Karone said, turning to Ryan, who hadn't spoken a word since he had returned to the Megaship with Jenny. "Where are Andros and Ashley?"

"Captured," he finally answered. "The Overlords... they surrendered."

"They what?" Zhane exclaimed in total disbelief. "Andros surrendered?"

"Deca can replay the image if you'd care to see it," Damien said sharply.

Zhane backed off. "How do we rescue them? How do we rescue KO-35?"

"We don't know," Tempest admitted, hastily adding, "But we'll think of something."

"I think," Karone said, "that we'll need some help with this."

"Who's here to help us?" Damien challenged her. "There's no one."

"Maybe not here," Karone pointed out. "But the universe is larger than KO-35."

"We can't leave them," Melanie protested. "We can't just abandon all those people..."

"We'll be back," Karone promised her. "But this enemy is too much for the seven of you."

"Where are we going?" Tempest asked.

Karone smiled. "Everywhere."

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Andros kept his eyes downcast, unable to meet either the cold gazes of the hundreds watching him from the crowd or Ashley's sad brown eyes brimming with tears that she was just barely keeping in. He focused on his hands instead, glaring at the length of rope that lashed his wrists together.

For the second time, he was watching his people being made into slaves, unable to help them. The only difference between this time and the first was that he was among them.

_"Andros."_

He finally forced himself to look at Ashley. She was crying silently and had been for some time now, her tears staining her entire face. More than anything, Andros wanted to pull her into his arms the way he had done so many times before and simply hold her, silently reassuring her that everything was all right.

_"The rest of them are almost gone."_

_"I know,"_ Andros said, his mental voice heavy with pain. _"Ashley, I'm so sorry."_

_"Stop it,"_ Ashley screamed at him. He winced at the volume of her voice and looked down as Ashley continued, her voice much softer now. _"Andros, we might never see each other again."_

_"I will see you again,"_ Andros told her firmly. The idea that he might never see her again refused to register in his mind. Life without Ashley had long ago become unimaginable, and he wasn't sure how long he could last without her.

"Andros," she whispered, slowly inching her way closer to him. Carefully, making sure none of the soldiers saw, Andros reached for her hands. With their wrists bound the way they were, he could do little more than curl his fingers around hers, but it was better than nothing.

"Ashley, I love you," he choked out, the boulder in his stomach growing as he saw that the majority of the captives had already been sold off. He'd figured that he and Ashley would be the last ones to go, but the amount of time that it took to sell thirty people just couldn't be all that he had left with her.

_"Then live," _she said forcefully. _"Andros, I know you. You'd rather be dead than a slave."_

_"I promised you I'd stay alive," _Andros said. That oath was all that was keeping him alive, and they both knew it. If it wasn't for Ashley, Andros would have been dead long ago._"Don't worry about me, Ash. I'll be all right somehow."_

Ashley's already painful grip on his fingers increased. _"Andros, I can't live without you. I can't live without our children."_

_"They're safe," _Andros assured her. The only thing that gave him hope was knowing that his children were safe. _"Don't worry about them, Ash. Don't worry about me. Take care of yourself."_

Ashley looked up at him and nodded shakily. She was crying again, and at the sight of her tears, Andros felt tears spill out of his own eyes. Releasing her hands, Andros raised his bound arms up, lowering them over her neck, pulling Ashley into his arms the best he was able. She leaned into him, her face buried in his chest as he cried into her hair, terror finally surfacing and nearly overwhelming him.

Everytime he closed his eyes, he couldn't help but picture himself toiling endlessly for those that he had always despised, his spirit broken and his body just an empty shell. He didn't doubt that he would be beaten for little more than sport, and he wondered how much it was possible for him to bear.

Of the two of them, Ashley's spirit was by far the stronger, and Andros had a sickening suspicion that wherever she ended up, someone was going to put everything they had into destroying her, attempting to reduce her to nothing more than the mindless servant they meant her to be.

He wondered how he could have been selfish enough to force her to promise to live no matter what was done to her. His mind was suddenly filled with images of his wife being starved, tortured, raped, beaten, maimed... The list of horrors went on and on, growing increasingly more horrific, and he knew without a doubt that Ashley would rather die than let most of them happen to her.

It didn't matter to him that he'd promised Ashley to live no matter what was done to him in return for her own promise. It didn't matter to him that everything he'd just imagined happening to Ashley could just as easily happen to him. Reality finally hit him, and Andros realized that he was about to lose the one woman he'd ever loved. He would gladly have died for her, but whatever came next he couldn't protect her from.

Ashley clung to her husband as the front of his shirt grew wet with her tears, wondering how anyone could be cruel enough not only to let one person own another but to tear someone away from the ones they loved the most. She was terrified of what would happen to Andros and even more frightened of what would happen to herself, but more than anything else, Ashley was terrified of having to live thte rest of her life without Andros.


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: If I haven't already said that it's mine, then it belongs to Saban or Disney or whoever I say it does.

_**Juzblue:** Yup, they're going to be slaves. The rangers are heading to Earth, among other places._

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** You remembered to review again:P Narnia's awesome... finish Magyck yet? Here's more. Don't kill me._

_**Mz. Daydream:** I know, it's so sad. :P Zhane's never the first to know anything, is he? Oh well. That other story should be up in a week, two at the most, depending how long it takes me to finish this. _

_**the-power-of-love:** Thanks, here's more. _

_**Mel:** I don't remember how many days you haven't reviewed in, but I haven't updated that much either, so it's all cool. :P_

Chapter 23

"No, TJ, give that back," Cassie said, sighing with exasperation as she chased TJ Junior around the living room, trying to pry Chandra's doll out of his hand. TJ Junior shook his head stubbornly and swung the poor doll around by her neck as Chandra started wailing.

"He kill her!"

"What's going on here?"

"You're home!" Cassie exclaimed in relief as TJ walked in the door, catching TJ Junior in his arms.

"I didn't know you played with dolls," he remarked.

"Dolls are for girls!" TJ Junior said, throwing the doll towards his sister. Chandra snatched her up, rocking her back and forth as TJ grinned at Cassie.

"Are you two trying to kill your mom or something?" TJ demanded, setting TJ Junior on the floor. "Go get ready for dinner."

"That was good timing," Cassie said with a grin as she brushed her raven hair out of her face. "You should have seen what the day care looked like when I got them after work."

"Do I want to?"

"Probably not," Cassie sighed. "Next time we go visit KO-35, keep them away from Zhane... Let's have pizza for dinner, unless you're in the mood to cook."

"Pizza it is," TJ said hastily. "I'll get that," he added as there was a loud knock at the door.

Cassie nodded absently, reaching for the phone only to hasten to the doorway as TJ called her name, his voice sharp.

"Zhane!" Cassie exclaimed. "Karone! What's going on?"

"You have to come with us," Zhane said, his familiar grin still present but very strained. "Get TJ Junior and Chandra. We'll explain on the way to Aquitar."

"Something's happened to Andros and Ashley," Cassie said, her eyes widening as neither Zhane nor Karone responded. "Give us ten minutes."

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"Whoa," TJ said, holding up his hands for silence as ten voices babbled at him. "Start over."

"We're your kids," Ciaran said, gesturing to himself and Melanie.

"So I **did** hear right," TJ said, exhaling slowly. "How?"

"There was no one to stop the Overlords," Melanie said. "So... they took over the universe."

"We must have fought them," Cassie insisted. "We wouldn't just have sat back and watched while they did this."

"Then we must have all ended up like Andros and Ashley," Zhane said. "As slaves... except for Karone." His wife shifted uncomfortably, and Zhane hastened to add, "I didn't mean it like that."

"I know," Karone said stiffly. "It's just that... I must have fooled them into thinking I was Astronema again. How else could I have survived?"

Zhane shook his head. "I don't know."

"How do we stop this from happening again?" Cassie asked. "You have a plan, I know it."

"We've got part of a plan," Karone said. "We need more rangers."

"The only problem is, most of them don't have their powers anymore," Zhane said.

"That's not quite true," TJ said, leaning forward. "The red rangers do... and the Wild Force team..."

"Wait." Tempest spoke softly, but every head on the bridge turned to look at her. "If none of the rangers had their powers anymore, then how were the red rangers able to morph for the Serpenterra mission?"

"Zordon," Cassie said hoarsely, stunned. "The Countdown... his energy must have given it all back..."

"Deca, take us back to Angel Grove," TJ ordered. "I think there are some people that we need to see."

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The blood rushed back into her hands as the bonds on her wrists were finally cut, and Ashley tried not to wince at the almost painful sensation. She rubbed her wrists slowly, trying her hardest not to pay any attention to the man towering over her.

"You were the yellow ranger once." When he spoke, Ashley couldn't ignore him any longer and nodded her head slowly. When his cruel laughter reached her ears, Ashley blinked back tears, unable to block out his voice as he continued. "You were the yellow ranger once, and now you're my property."

Swallowing hard, Ashley nodded again. He seized a handful of her hair and yanked her head up, forcing her to look at him, laughing again when he saw the fear she couldn't keep out of her eyes. "I won't harm you if you do as you're told."

Ashley nodded another time, sighing with relief as he released her. A moment later, she stiffened as she felt his hand on her face and fought hard to keep herself from trembling before she realized he was only removing her earrings. His fingers slipped under the neckline of her shirt, tearing away the necklace she'd always worn. Tears filled her eyes, but Ashley didn't protest.

"Any more jewelry?" he questioned her. Ashley shook her head, cringing as he caught her left hand, demanding, "What's this?"

"My wedding ring," Ashley whispered, the tears welled in her eyes spilling over. "It can't be worth anything to you!"

"I can take the ring or I can take your entire hand."

Slowly, Ashley worked the ring off of her finger, her fingers clenching over it briefly before she dropped it into the man's waiting hand. His fist closed over it as his face broke into a satisfied grin.

"You'll be put to work now," he informed her. "The slaves here dig for the minerals that are used to create fuel for our ships. If you disobey orders once, you will be beaten. If you disobey orders twice, you will be killed. Do you understand?"

Ashley nodded her head slowly, the lump in her throat making speech impossible.

The man laughed one more time before forcing a shovel into her hands and snapping, "Get to work!"

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"This is Kenelm and Lyra," Andros was told. He glared down at the ground, refusing to look at either them or his owner, and nodded his head sullenly. "You will join them. Don't try anything."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Andros muttered. A split second later, he cried out in pain as a whip was cracked hard across his shoulders.

"I do not joke," his new owner said coldly. "I know you were the red ranger." Andros said nothing. A moment later, a man stepped in front of him, seizing his still-bound wrists, eyeing the golden ring he wore. "You won't be needing this anymore."

"I think I will be," Andros snapped, tearing his hands free and stepping back. An instant later, he felt the whip snap against his back again, and he wondered how long it would be before they killed him.

"I disagree," the man said, catching ahold of his arms. "As far as everyone is concerned, you no longer have a wife." Andros glared at him bitterly, but didn't struggle as the ring was pulled off of his finger. "You start work now. Kenelm and Lyra will show you what to do. If you cause trouble of any kind, I will purchase your wife and kill her before your eyes."

"I thought I didn't have a wife," Andros snapped before he caught himself. He saw Lyra wince and a moment later he was driven to his knees by the force of the blows raining down on him.

"If you say another word, she might not have a husband."

Andros clenched his teeth, refraining himself from saying any more. He was hauled ot his feet and the rope holding his wrists together was cut. He heard a door slam, and a moment later, he was alone with Lyra and Kenelm.

"Are you all right?" Lyra asked. Andros glared at her before his gaze softened.

"No," he said dully. "I'm not. But I'm not hurt, if that's what you meant."

"It was," Kenelm said anxiously. "Hurry. We have to get to work before he comes back."

"We do everything here," Lyra said. "Today we clean."

Andros nodded his head numbly. Retreating into his mind, he reached for Ashley. Her presence was diminished by distance, but she was still there, as she had always been since the day he'd first seen her. They were too far apart for words to carry between them, but Andros reached out to her nonetheless, strengthening her even as he drew on her own strength. Silently trying to convince himself that he would hold her in his arms again, Andros went to work.


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: If I haven't already said that it's mine, then it belongs to Saban or Disney or whoever I tell you it belongs to.

_**Mz. Daydream:** Of course Andros is the stubborn one. For some reason, I love writing the sad scenes. Yeah, Karone and the others are looking for the other rangers._

_**Jenny:** Of course I love plot twists. And if you think that was sad, wait until you see the next three or four stories I thought up. :P Uh, I'm not exactly sure what happens to Ximena and Skylar, but neither do they. _

_**erinx0x0x:** Thanks. Here's more, sorry for the wait._

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** It's all right, my Internet kills itself way too often. I love Magyck too! Or was it Magyk? Whatever. You already knew that. Kill more mosquitoes. They're evil. :P_

_A/N:I didn't watch half these seasons, so if the characters are a little off, that's why._

Chapter 24

"Karone!" Leo Corbett's face broke into an astonished smile as he took in the blond staring at him on the other side of the comm screen. "How are you?"

"We need your help, Leo," Karone said gravely. "KO-35 has been taken over. Andros and Ashley have been captured."

"What?" another voice cried, and a moment later, Leo's wife had appeared by his side.

Karone smiled weakly. "Hi, Kendrix."

"Where do you need us to go?" Kendrix asked.

Karone hesitated. "You can't go to KO-35."

"Earth?"

After another moment of hesitation, Karone nodded. "We'll all be here."

Leo nodded as well. "So will we."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"This is the house," Ryan said, glancing apprehensively at the sky as if expecting fighters to descend out of it. "Come on."

Tempest followed him as they crossed the street and headed up the front walk. "Whaddya gonna say? 'Excuse me, but I kinda need you to risk your life so that I can change time and space and keep my parents from dying as slaves?' "

"Something like that, yeah," Ryan said distantly. He pushed his forefinger firmly into the button that rang the bell, stepped back, and waited until the door opened. "Kimberly Hart?"

"Kimberly Oliver, actually," the brunette woman in her early thirties corrected him. "How can I help you?"

"Oliver?" Ryan repeated. This might be easier than he'd planned. "Are you married to Tommy Oliver?"

"I am," she said, starting to eye him warily. Ryan decided he'd better hurry up.

"Four months ago, your husband went on a mission with the other red rangers, didn't he?" he asked.

"How'd you know that?" Kim's eyes narrowed at him. "What do you want?"

"Help," Tempest said, pushing past Ryan, deciding that he wasn't doing a very good job of explaining things. "Will you just listen to us?"

Kim hesitated, but only for a moment. "Come in."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sorry!" Alyssa exclaimed, nearly bowling over a girl only a few years younger than herself. "For a second, it looked like you'd just appeared out of nowhere."

She turned to go, thinking no more of the incident until the girl suddenly stepped in front of her. "I think you're one of the ones I'm looking for. Alyssa Enrile?"

"That's me," Alyssa said brightly. "Do you need something?"

"It's a long story," the girl said, shaking her dirty blond hair out of her eyes. "I'm Mira."

"My name's Matt," another voice said, and a moment later, a boy had materialized next to Mira. "We need to talk to you, and Cole, Taylor, Danny, Max, and Merrick. We need the rangers."

"How did you-"

Matt held up his left wrist. "We're the Astro rangers."

"You can't be," Alyssa protested, falling into a defensive stance. "The Astro rangers were the ones everyone saw at the Countdown. I might only have been nine, but I remember."

"Alyssa, wait!"

She spun around. "Cole?"

"They're telling the truth," the young man in red confirmed, approaching them slowly. "We'll listen."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Carter Grayson?" Zhane asked, feeling himself tensing up at the younger man's cool demeanor. "Red Lightspeed ranger?"

"Yes," Carter confirmed. "How can I help you?"

Zhane sighed. "I was the silver Astro Ranger once."

"I remember," Carter said.

Zhane nodded briefly before continuing. "KO-35 has been invaded by an enemy that will be on Earth in a matter of weeks if we don't act now. I need you and your team to help."

Carter paused. "My team can defend Mariner Bay."

"This is bigger than Mariner Bay," Zhane said patiently, although he was tempted to beat some sense into the red ranger's head. "This is bigger than the Earth. This is about the universe. The only way to stop the Overlords is for all the ranger teams to help the Astro rangers."

"Then why aren't you fighting?" Carter challenged, and Zhane groaned with frustration.

"There's a new team of Astro rangers," Zhane explained. He paused briefly, hit with a sudden inspiration. "Listen, you fought with Andros, didn't you? On the Serpenterra mission?"

Carter nodded. "He was a strong fighter."

"He's been captured."

"How?" Carter demanded.

"The invasion of KO-35 was well planned," Zhane said. "Andros and his wife, Ashley, were both captured. They were both rangers, Carter. What happened to them can just as easily happen to you."

Carter sighed. "I'm listening."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Adam!"

"Cassie," the former black ranger exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"We need your help," Cassie said, opening her mouth to explain, but Adam was already nodding his head.

"I'm there," he said. "I'll get Rocky and the others on the phone for you."

The Asian woman threw her arms around him. "Thank you!... Why do I have a feeling that the others aren't having such an easy time of this?"

"Others?"

"I'll explain while you're making those calls," Cassie said, shoving a phone into his hands.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I don't like this place," Damien mumbled as he followed Melanie and Ciaran from the blazing summer sunshine into the cool air conditioned interior of the building marked with the insignia of the Silver Guardians.

"Quit complaining," Melanie snapped at him. "You're walking through a building. It's got to be better than slave labor, and it's definitely better than death."

Damien opened his mouth to retort, but fell silent as they approaced two men, both dressed in red.

"Are you Wes Collins and Eric Meyers?" Ciaran asked. When they both nodded, he took a deep breath. "This is kind of a long story..."

"We're there," Wes said the instant he'd finished. "I'll call the future."

"Wes..." Eric began, but the other shook his head.

"They need our help, Eric," he snapped. "This isn't about Jen."

Eric muttered something under his breath that likely contradicted Wes's last statement, but shrugged and reached for his own morpher.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Remember me?"

"TJ!" the person in question cried. "I haven't seen you in ages..."

"Justin," TJ broke in. "We need you."

"All right," Justin exclaimed. "What's up?"

TJ sighed. "You're going to love this..."


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: If I haven't already told you that it's mine, then it belongs to Saban or Disney or whoever.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Funny? Okay, then..._

_**Mz. Daydream: **The battle won't be for awhile... action scenes aren't my favorite, and there's about fifty people I've got to work in there. :P_

_**Juzblue:** I made Carter a jerk, didn't I? Oh well, I never liked him..._

_**Jenny:** Don't worry, I'll go back to the angsty fluff A/A stuff just as soon as I'm done with this story, which was originally supposed to have a lot of angsty fluff A/A in it. I thought the zeo, mighty morphin, and turbo powers were nada too, but if Forever Red happened, then I guess not. And this takes place only four months after Forever Red, so the WF team still has their powers. There's Skylar and Ximena in this chapter, and you can start saving people now. Sorta. :P_

_**the-power-of-love:** Thanks, here's more. _

_**Red Ranger Chick:** I guess I forgot about the kids, didn't I? Oops. I'll fix that. _

_**PinkRanger4Evr:** Thanks. Here's some more. Sorry for the wait, and I think all the other rangers will just be part of the final big battle._

Chapter 25

"What's wrong now?" Ximena demanded, plopping down on her bed and groaning as she saw Skyar's troubled expression.

"Oh, nothing," Skylar replied, her voice heavily laced with sarcasm. "There's only about fifty rangers down there that have been trying to kill us for the last few weeks."

Ximena shrugged. "That seems almost normal. What's really bothering you?"

"The same thing that's bothering you," Skylar said evenly. "And don't pretend that it's not."

Her twin sighed. "We saved them once. I don't think we can do it again, not without dying ourselves."

"Maybe not," Skylar agreed. "But I don't think we're even supposed to be alive."

"Skylar..."

"Think," she urged. "The rangers have Jenny and Marieke. We were them, so what does that make us?"

"You can't expect us to just go poof and become rangers ourselves," Ximena said warily.

"I don't," Skylar assured her. "I just don't think we exist anymore."

Ximena groaned. "Why did they insist on messing with time? It's too complicated."

Skylar shrugged. "They didn't know who we were," she reminded her. "And they wanted to save their parents... **our** parents."

Ignoring her sister's last comment, Ximena said, "So if you're right, and we're not supposed to exist anymore... then does that mean we can't die?"

"I don't think so," Skylar said, looking startled at the suggestion. "But I don't know... and it's not too late. If things were supposed to be this way, they still could be. There's nothing stopping us from going after the twins ourselves."

"Except that we don't want to," Ximena sighed. "What about Spyridon? Does he know? Does he exist?"

Skylar shrugged. "He's one of the sons of the black ranger and the red Aquitan ranger. We don't know which one, and it doesn't really matter."

"He doesn't care?"

"He doesn't believe."

"Do you want him to?"

"Don't you?"

Ximena sighed again, and nodded. "You're right, you know. We can't just sit around and do nothing."

"So we're saving people?" Skylar's expression brightened for an instant, and then her smile faded. "How?"

After a moment, Ximena admitted, "I know where they are."

Skylar didn't need to question who 'they' were. "How? Where?"

Ximena shrugged uncertainly and grinned ruefully. "I guess all that stuff you said about it feeling wrong to fight the rangers made me start thinking. When they started selling off the captives, I was watching for them, I guess."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Still no trace of them?" Ryan asked, coming up beside Karone, who shook her head sadly.

"If there is one, I can't find it," she said, sighing heavily. "I don't know what to tell Aidan..."

Ryan nodded silently and let his eyes drift to the boy that was his younger self. He was cradling Seren in his arms, and had been for the larger part of the past three weeks, ever since he had teleported onto the Megaship during the battle. Jenny and Marieke stuck close to their brother and sister, questioning everyone they met when their parents were coming back. No one had had the heart to answer.

"We'll think of something," Zhane said in a low voice as he joined them. "We have to."

The three of them started in surprise as the comm signal chimed. "Incoming transmission."

"Who's it from, Deca?" Zhane asked.

"It is from the Overlord's ship," Deca reported. "Do you wish to accept it?"

"Yes," Karone said decisively. "I think we do."

"What do you want?" Ryan demanded the instant Skylar's face appeared. In his heart, he had already accepted that this was his sister, but his mind refused to.

"To help," Skylar said quietly. "We can help you find them."

"And why should we trust you?" Ryan snapped before he thought better of it. "You're the ones who captured them! You're the ones that sold them!"

"That wasn't us," Skylar insisted urgently. "We were the ones that stopped Spyridon the night your sister was born."

"I don't believe you," Ryan said. "I don't trust you."

Skylar glared at him sadly for a moment and the screen went black. He let out a heavy sigh, and turned to Zhane and Karone, both staring at him.

"You shouldn't have done that," Zhane said finally.

"Then you should have stopped me."

Ryan stalked off. Karone watched him go, surprised to see a small smile on her husband's face. "What?"

"That boy is entirely too much like his father."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I told you it wouldn't work," Ximena said not unkindly. "They'll never trust us."

"I know," Skylar said sadly. "I was just hoping that maybe..."

"We don't need them," Ximena insisted, jumping to her feet. "If this is what we want to do, we can do it ourselves."

"Ximena..." Skylar said, shadows of doubt creeping across her face. "If we do this, we'll never be able to come back."

"Why not?" Ximena asked. "As long as we don't get caught, we'll be fine. Saving that baby was much riskier."

"That's not what I mean," Skylar said. "We knew that they were our parents, but we stayed here because this was where we belonged. We've already saved them once. If we do it again, then this isn't home anymore."

"We don't have to do this," Ximena said, beginning to hesitate. "We could stay here."

"Do you want to?"

"No," she admitted in response to her twin's challenge. "I don't."

Skylar nodded. "Then let's go."


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: If it's not mine, then it's Saban's or Disney's or whoever's.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Yeah, you got through to Jenny. Here's more. _

_**Mz. Daydream:** I've been having writer's block. :P Either that, or I've been stalling since the story's almost over. They'll all be in the final battle, but I haven't decided for sure who'll be on what side._

_**Jenny:** Ximena and Skylar are both equally strong, Ximena's just slightly more impulsvie and Skylar usually thinks things through a little more. I kinda like the impulsiveness better than the thoughtfulness, though. :P_

_**Juzblue:** Not good, exactly, just not evil. :P_

_**the-power-of-love:** Thanks, here's more, I'll watch for your next story. _

Chapter 26

Pain hit him the instant he opened his eyes, and Andros stifled a groan as he sat up slowly, trying not to strain his already sore muscles. His body ached from more beatings than he could count, the result of flying into a rage whenever he was baited. At first, he'd been too numb to care, but as some of the pain of being separated from his family had started to ebb away, it occured to him that if he didn't start keeping his mouth shut, he very likely wouldn't see them again.

He sighed heavily, trying to reach Ashley with his mind, something that had become increasingly difficult to do. Wherever she was, he could sense that Ashley was in pain, both physical and emotional, and knew that she had begun to retreat into the safe haven of her mind to protect herself. He also didn't doubt that she was blocking him from feeling the worst of it.

"Time to get up."

Andros glanced sadly at Lyra and Kenelm, the two other household slaves. They had been born into this life and had never tasted freedom. He pitied them for this, and also he envied them. Not knowing anything life but this one, it cost them nothing to obey every order tossed at them.

"What do we do today?" he muttered, pulling on his shoes. There was a task assigned to everyday, in addition to performing a series of daily rutines.

"It's cleaning day again," Kenelm said impatiently, handing him a rag. "Every other day, remember?"

"Oh," Andros said dully. He truly couldn't recall ever being told such a thing.

"Come on," Lyra said. "We've got to get started before he wakes up."

Kenelm suddenly gave a startled shout, and Andros whirled around in time to see two cloaked figures advance towards him as Kenelm and Lyra ran from the room.

"Come with us," one of them pleaded, and he tensed, recognizing the voice.

"Skylar and Ximena," he said quietly, wondering how he could emerge from this alive. "What do you want?"

"We need you to come with us," the other said. "Please."

"Why?" he snarled. "So your masters can entertain themselves by seeing me as a slave?"

"We want to help you," Skylar insisted. "We know where our- your- we know where Ashley is."

Andros closed his eyes, trying to keep himself from agreeing so readily. "Where?"

"You come with us or you don't know," Ximena said firmly. "You'll get yourself killed if you go alone."

"And since when have you cared if I lived or died?" he challenged them. "You don't know where Ashley is. You just want me to go with you."

"You sound just like your son," Ximena snapped, wincing as she realized what she'd just said.

"Where's Aidan?" Andros demanded, his eyes hard and dangerous. "What did you do to my children?"

"Not Aidan, exactly," Skylar mumbled sheepishly. "Umm... The Overlords took over the world fourteen years ago."

"But-"

"You and Ashley were sold into slavery," Skylar continued. "You're family and friends were either sold or killed."

"You-"

"Aidan and Seren were rescued," Skylar pressed on, ignoring Andros's attempts at speech. "The other ranger children were rescued, except one."

He didn't want to believe this. He couldn't believe this... but he was. "What happened?"

Ximena shrugged. "We don't know."

"It was you," he realized suddenly. "You were the ones who saved Ashley the night Seren was born... Why?"

"You won't like it," Skylar warned him.

There was a sudden flash of motion behind them, and Andros groaned, seeing Haul standing in the doorway to the small room, arms crossed, eyes blazing. "What do you think you're doing?"

"We're here to take what's ours," Ximena said cooly, her hand edging to the blade at her hip. "Get out of my way."

"He's mine," Haul informed her, his voice just as cold. "I paid for him."

"Does it look like we care?" Skylar snapped.

"Then I'll teach you to care," Haul growled, taking a step towards them.

"I very much doubt that."

Like lightning, two blades were drawn and leveled against Haul's neck. He slowly backed away, glaring bitterly at them all.

"You can have him," he said. "He's not worth much, anyway."

"Let's go," Skylar said anxiously as Haul vanished.

"No."

Ximena groaned. "Do you want to stay here? You can if you want to."

"Of course I don't want to stay here," Andros snapped, trying to regain some sense of dignity. "But I won't be your slave. If that's what you're here for, then kill me."

"You don't want to die," Ximena said, rolling her eyes. "You'd be dead already if you did. You promised Ashley that you would stay alive."

"But this isn't living," he said. He hadn't felt alive since the last moments he'd held Ashley in his arms. The instant she was torn away from him, he'd felt his heart slowly begin to encase itself in its protective shell of ice.

"Let's bring you back to life, then," Skylar said, grabbing his arm before he had a chance to protest. "Don't worry, we'll explain everything."


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: If I haven't said it's mine, then it belongs to Saban or Disney or whoever.

_**Mz. Daydream:** Yeah, writer's block. The story wasn't really supposed to happen quite like this, but it did, and it seemed to work, so I'm just working on finishing it. Andros doesn't know all of it yet... that's what this chapter is for. :P_

_**Jenny:** The fourteen years was from Skylar and Ximena's point of view, sorry. All those relationships you mentioned? I thought it'd be kinda funny, and if it's not, it was still really fun to write. :P And I actually did update soon! _

_**C.C.C:** Yay, you're back! They'll be together again in the next chapter, don't worry._

_**the-power-of-love:** Thanks, here's more, don't worry, they'll be together again soon._

Chapter 27

Andros hissed in pain as Ximena tried to bandage his wounds, and twisted away. "I'm fine," he insisted stiffly. "Don't bother."

Ximena rolled her eyes. "If you could see your back, I think you'd disagree."

Andros didn't reply to that. "Where are we?"

"A shuttle," Skylar told him, handing Ximena some more bandages. "We're on our way to Elon."

"Elon?" Andros repeated, trying to associate the name with the correct planet. The moment he did, he groaned, the color draining from his face. "Ashley's not there?"

"I'm sorry," Skylar said, touching his shoulder. "But she is."

Elon was a slave world, and one of the harshest. If the captives weren't baking under a desert sun, they were drowning in icy rains, and the physical labor was exhausting. Elonian days were thirty hours long, and the slaves were worked nonstop for twenty-five of those. Andros had no doubt that there was enough strength in Ashley to survive in that environment, but he would have spared her from it if he could.

"She's still alive, isn't she?" he asked, his voice breaking.

"Yes," Skylar said. "She's alive and mostly unharmed."

"Mostly?" Andros repeated, his eyes narrowing, vowing a painful end for whoever had laid a hand on his wife. "What happened to her?"

"Elon is not a pleasant place to live, that's all," Ximena said. "Nothing was done to her."

Andros bit his lip and nodded, accepting her words as the truth. "Why are you helping me?"

Skylar sighed. "When we said that the Overlords took over the universe fourteen years ago, did you believe us?"

Andros nodded reluctantly. "I don't know why, but I did."

"What we should have said was that the Overlords took over the universe fourteen years ago from our point of view."

"Are you saying that you've travelled back in time fourteen years?"

Ximena nodded. "The rangers, uh... they're also from our time."

"Who are they?" he demanded, detecting the sudden reluctance in her tone. "Tell me!"

"Well, Ryan and Tempest are our brother and sister," Skylar told him. "Mira and Matt are brother and sister. Ciaran and Melanie are brother and sister. Damien and Spyridon are brothers."

"That doesn't tell me who they are."

"They," Skylar said slowly, "are the children of the Astro rangers."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Tem, are you sure about this?" Matt asked.

"Very," the yellow ranger replied, twirling one of her red curls around her finger. "Deca, hail them."

"What do you want?"

Tempest rolled her eyes. "So nice to see you too, sister."

Skylar sighed. "We offered to help you."

"And my brother was an ass," Tempest finished. "Where are they?"

"Andros is on the shuttle," Skylar said. "He's, well, he didn't exactly react well to hearing that two of his daughters became the Overlord's prized soldiers."

"I can imagine," Tempest said dryly. "Where's Ashley?"

"Elon." Skylar paused. "What's happening on KO-35?"

"There's four ranger teams down there now," Tempest told her. "We've been taking it in turns to attack... so they wear out, but we don't."

"Smart," Skylar nodded approvingly. "You'll need everyone in the last battle, though."

"We'll get there," Tempest said. "I want to come."

"Come where?"

"Elon!"

"Oh," Skylar said. "Won't Ryan-"

"I don't care what Ryan thinks," Tempest broke in. "I want to do this."

Skylar hesitated. "I'll send Deca our coordinates."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun glared down upon her as Ashley pushed the shovel downward into the ground, her badly blistered hands screaming in protest as she struggled to pull it back up again.

Biting her lip hard, she managed not to cry out in pain, and continued digging slowly, not seeing a single trace of the blue-ish green mineral used to create starship fuel.

She groaned softly, already much too familiar for her liking with the punishment dealt out to those who failed to fill a barrel a day with the minerals. The barrel behind her was barely half full, and seemed to be getting emptier instead of fuller, and the sun would set in less than an hour.

One of the largest blisters on her right hand burst suddenly. Ashley gasped softly in pain, her mouth opening in a silent scream as her eyes began smarting with tears. She tried to continue digging using only her left hand and found it next to impossible. Tearing off a strip of what was left of her shirt, she bandaged her hand as best she could, and went back to work, her hand burning in agony.

She forgot her own pain for a moment as there was a loud whimper to her right. Ashley glanced over to see a boy no older than Aidan holding a broken shovel in his hands, looking about in abject terror for one of the guards.

Ashley bit her lip, groaning inwardly. She knew she didn't have it in her to watch this boy beaten half to death. Not that she was eager to be beaten half to death herself, especially as she already felt half dead, but that child reminded her of Aidan... she would gladly have died to save her little boy.

"Trade with me," she whispered, her voice hoarse from disuse. Petrified with fear, the child only stared at her. Cursing silently, Ashley pried the broken tool out of his small hands and shoved her own at him.

The boy suddenly squeaked with fear and snapped out of his daze, hurriedly going back to work as Ashley exhaled slowly, bracing herself for what she knew was coming.


	28. Chapter 28

Disclaimer: If I haven't said it's mine, then it's Saban's or Disney's or whoever's.

_**Mz. Daydream:** Yeah, Ashley's nice. Andros would have done it too, though, I think. They're reunited here._

_**the-power-of-love:** Thanks, here's more._

_**Jenny:** Andros and Ashley were captured before anyone besides Karone knew. _

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Wow, you must be psychic. :P _

_**C.C.C:** I know, I love protective Andros too. :P_

Chapter 28

"You and Tempest will go together," Ximena said, gesturing to Andros and the yellow ranger. "Skylar and I will take the west end, you two take the east."

Andros nodded, not protesting Ximena's leadership. He was too exhausted to be thinking straight, and the fact that his twin daughters were now only nine years younger than himself wasn't exactly helping matters.

He sighed tiredly, running a hand over his face in an attempt to clear his head. It was all going to be all right, he told himself sternly. In just a few moments, he'd have Ashley in his arms once again.

"What's the matter?" Skylar demanded as he suddenly went rigid, his eyes widening in horror.

"Ashley," he whispered tersely. "Something's wrong."

"Where is she?"

Closing his eyes, he searched frantically for her presence, alarmed as he felt her slipping away from him. _"Ash?"_

_"A-an-"_

The difficulty Ashley had even thinking his name was not at all reassuring. If he hadn't forced himself to feel nothing, Andros was sure he would have been sick with fear.

"We have to go now," he snapped, snatching desperately at Ashley's telepathic presence in his mind, knowing only that if he were to let her slip away from him, the chances of her coming back were very slim. _"Ashley, can you hear me?"_

_"Help me,"_ he heard her pleading suddenly, nearly causing him to burst into tears. _"It hurts so much."_

_"What does?" _he demanded, not bothering to keep his rage at bay. Ashley was struggling to keep him from feeling how much pain she was in and doing a poor job of it. _"Where are you?"_

A cry of pain was his only answer. Andros swore loudly in frustration, wincing as he realized that the sound would carry. Ximena motioned for him and Tempest to take off as she and Skylar headed in the opposite direction.

_"Ash, where are you?"_ He tried again, his heart racing as he felt her growing steadily weaker. _"Ashley, answer me!"_

_"I..."_

Her mindvoice trailed off, and Andros skidded to a halt, struggling not to cry. "I can't feel her anymore," he whispered. "She's just... gone."

"There's still time," Tempest said urgently, tugging on his arm to get him moving again. "She's not dead yet."

"She can't be," he muttered, trying hard not to picture the rest of his life without the one woman he had ever loved.

"Then hurry up," she snapped. "Keep moving before the guards come around... Do you have any idea where we're going?"

"No," he said, his heart sinking. Elon might be an extremely small planetoid, but the chances of finding Ashley in the next few minutes were growing steadily smaller, especially if she wasn't conscious.

Tempest paused suddenly, wincing as the air suddenly snapped loudly. "Do you hear that?"

"It sounds like... someone being beaten," he said, his stomach churning at the sound of leather striking against human flesh. "No."

"If that's her, it's very likely she passed out," Tempest said. Andros was already moving in the direction of the awful noise, the expression on his face almost enough to make her pity whoever was unfortunate to be nearby with a whip in hand.

For a split second after he spotted Ashley, Andros could only stare, frozen with horror. Two guards, a man and a woman, held her body, propping her up as a second man cracked a whip against her back repeatedly, not caring that she wasn't even twitching.

Then Andros saw the look of cruel satisfaction on the man's face as he contiued lashing his unconscious victim and whatever had once held his temper in check snapped and he flew at the man beating his wife, his uppercut landing squarely on the guard's jaw. His other hand caught him in the back of the neck, and the man slumped over, stunned.

Resisting the temptation to continue attacking now helpless man, as he had been doing to Ashley, Andros moved to help Tempest drive back the other two guards. The male guard had shoved Ashley's body at his partner the instant Tempest had morphed, and now he was slowly backing away, too terrified to take his eyes off of the yellow ranger.

Andros reached out and pulled Ashley free of the woman's grasp, leaving Tempest free to attack at will, without worrying about catching her mother in the crossfire. Slowly lowering Ashley to the ground, he dropped down beside her, his hands searching for her pulse. He found it quickly enough, and sighed with relief, the sigh becoming a choked sob as he cradled her in his arms, burying his face in her hair.

"Ash, please wake up," he whispered, his tears falling freely now as he realized that he was truly holding her in his arms. "Ashley, open your eyes."

Ashley didn't stir as he continued pleading with her, but Andros refused to move an inch from her side. Tempest was holding her own, and he was dimly aware that Skylar and Ximena had joined her. There was no need for him in the fight, while Ashley needed him now possibly more than she ever had before.

_"Ash,"_ he cried out, trading in verbal words for telepathic ones. _"I know you can hear me, Ashley, and I need you to answer me."_

Ashley didn't respond, but her breathing grew steadier, and he breathed a little easier himself. Encouraged, he continued calling her. Careful not to add to her already agonizing injuries, he lifted her completely into his arms, grimacing as he felt warm, wet blood on his arms. Trying not to look at the deep gashes that covered her back, he swallowed hard and kept trying to wake her.

_"Ashley, I love you,"_ he tried, his tears washing her dusty face. _"I know you're in pain, but you have to fight, Ash, you have to. Our children need you. I need you. Please, just open your eyes, Ash, please."_

"I love you too," a weak voice whispered, and Andros's teary hazel eyes snapped open to meet Ashley's dazed brown ones.

"Ashley?"

She tried to smile. "You don't have to sound so surprised."

Andros tried to smile back, but found himself sobbing harder into Ashley's hair as tears started to flow out of her own eyes. She tried to lift her arms and wrap them around his neck, but her body screamed in protest as she attempted the motion and she moaned softly in pain.

"Ashley, don't move," Andros ordered her. Slowly and carefully, he worked his way to his feet, still holding her. "Can you walk?"

"I... don't know," she muttered. Truthfully, the answer was definitely a no; she was having enough problems staying awake to even think about walking. Andros wordlessly readjusted his hold on her, and she sighed gratefully, relieved to finally be off of her feet.

"Let's get you out of here, all right?" he said soothingly in her ear. "You'll be fine, Ash, I promise. As soon as you're cleaned up and in bed, you'll be okay."

Ashley nodded her head against his shoulder, more than happy to let him think for the both of them for the next day or so. Feeling the familiar warmth of his body pressing against her, she closed her eyes, opening them again in annoyance when he jostled her slightly.

"Stay awake, Ash," he murmured. "Only a little longer, I promise."

Too weary to do anything but trust his every word, she nodded again, forcing herself to concentrate on the sound of his voice. When she heard the frighteningly familiar snap of a whip, Ashley whimpered in pain and fear as Andros cried out in pain, stumbling forward and nearly dropping her. It was then that he realized that the first guard had recovered.

"Go," Skylar shouted at them, unsheathing her sword, eyes glittering dangerously. The guard refused to retreat at her stare, and drew his blaster, aiming it squarely at her.

Rolling her eyes, Skylar dodged the laser fire easily, knocking both the blaster and the whip from his hands as Ximena and Tempest closed in on him from the sides. The guard glared at them all defiantly, raising his fists to continue the fight.

"Joll won't be happy to hear you stole his slave," he informed them, the reslove in his eyes slowly weakening as the three of them met his glare calmly.

"Then you can tell Joll that my mother does not belong to him," Tempest said evenly, her fingers twitching on the trigger to her Star Slinger.

"He paid for her," he said indignantly. "She belongs to him."

"We disagree," Skylar snapped. "Think of it this way. If we hadn't gotten here when we did, she'd be dead by now anyway, so you lose nothing."

"I wasn't gonna kill her," he protested, beginning to realize that he was in more danger than he'd originally thought. "Look, I didn't wanna do it in the first place, but I've gotta follow orders."

"Maybe," Ximena said. "But there are some orders that shouldn't be followed."

"You're... you're gonna kill me now, aren't you?" The guard glanced at each of them in resignation and fear.

"We should," Ximena growled.

She might have followed through, but at that moment, distant fire reached their ears, coming from the direction in which they'd hidden the shuttle.

"Not hidden enough, apparently," Skylar muttered. "Let's go."

Wasting no more time, they took off, sprinting as quickly as they could in the direction of the battle. When they reached the area three minutes later, all was silent, and the ground was littered with bodies, all clad in the uniform of a guard.

Andros stood in the shuttle's open hatch, one arm supporting Ashley, his free hand clutching an Astroblaster. The fingers of Ashley's right hand were clenched around her own blaster, and from the shaken expression on her face, it was clear that several of her shots had hit home.

"Let's get out of here," Ximena said unnecessarily the instant the shuttle hatch slid shut. "Skylar, you drive."

Skylar rolled her eyes at her twin. "I'd better, if you want to get out of here alive."

As soon as the shuttle lifted off, Andros lowered Ashley to the ground, carefully peeling off what remained of her shirt, wincing as he saw how deep the gashes went. Suppressing his rage, he sighed heavily and reached for the first aid kit Tempest had handed him.

Ashley moaned softly as he started to clean her wounds, biting her lip to muffle the sound, but Andros heard it clearly. Muttering an apology, he continued working, taking care not to cause her any more pain than was absolutely necessary.

"That's as much as I can do, Ash," he said a few moments later, tugging off his own shirt and slipping it over her head. "We'll do more when we get back to the Megaship."

"Megaship?" Ashley mumbled, unable to keep her eyes open any longer.

Andros nodded, slowly shifting her into his lap, letting her pillow her head against his shoulder, pressing a gentle kiss to her temple. "You can rest now, Ash. Don't worry, we're almost home."


	29. Chapter 29

Disclaimer: If I haven't said it's mine, then it belongs to Saban or Disney or whoever.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow/ Marieke:** I love making Andros so sweet. That might be part of the reason he ends up saving Ashley at times when she's perfectly capable of taking care of herself, but that wasn't one of those times. No, they're not drugging their kids, sorry... and I already explained why I can't kill Ashley. Stupid bonding for life. :P You stole a T-shirt? _

_**Juzblue:** Yup, they're together again. Everything can be happy now..._

_**Mz. Daydream:** They acknowledge Ashley as their mother, but they're still a little bit weirded out by the whole thing. Ashley won't find out until the next chapter, since she's just a little out of it. :P_

_**PinkRanger4Evr:** I actually did update soon._

_**Jenny:** Yeah, I've read what Marieke has so far. I'm not quite sure how she stole your identity, but whatever you need to think... :P See, I gave Ximena some strong points. :P_

Chapter 20

_"Karone? Zhane?"_

_"Andros!"_

Zhane answered first, and Andros spoke to him, but he knew very well that Karone was listening in on the entire conversation.

_"We're on our way back," _he told them.

_"You're what?"_

_"It's a long story,"_ Andros said tiredly. _"I'll explain it all later. I need a favor."_

_"Sure."_

_"Ashley doesn't look so good,"_ Andros said, brushing a few strands of hair back from Ashley's face as she dozed fitfully. Every few minutes, she would snap awake, and then slowly drift off again.

_"And you want your kids as far away from the medical bay as it's possible for them to be?"_ Zhane finished knowingly. _"Don't worry about it... How bad is she?"_

_"She'll live," _Andros said, gazing at Ashley's sleeping form. _"But she's beaten up pretty badly, and completely exhausted."_

_"And you?"_ Karone asked.

_"Ashley's worse off than I am,"_ he said. _"Don't worry about me."_

_"Uh-huh,"_ Karone said.

Andros started to protest, but Ashley stirred slightly, and he quickly cut the conversation, turning his attention to Ashley instead. "Ash?"

"Andros," she whispered, burying her face in his chest, comforted by the warmth of his body. "I love you."

"I love you too, Ash," he whispered back, gently kissing the top of her head. "I love you so much, and I'm never letting you out of my sight again."

Ashley laughed weakly at that, a faint smile appearing on her bruised face. "I think I can live with that."

"Just as long as you live," Andros said fiercely.

"I will," she promised him. "If you will."

"I will," he said quietly, resisting the urge to crush her in his arms. "You can go back to sleep if you want."

"I don't want to," she muttered, looking away before Andros could see the haunted look in her eyes. "I keep seeing all those people... and I couldn't help them..."

"We'll go back, Ash," he assured her. "As soon as KO-35's safe, we'll go back and free all those people, I promise."

"Thank you," she said softly, still not meeting his eye. "There was a little boy there, younger than Aidan... he shouldn't have been there."

"None of them should have," Andros said, stroking her cheek. "Don't worry about them for a few days, Ashley. Worry about yourself."

"The Megaship is in view," Skylar announced. "Um, Tempest, maybe you should be the one to hail them. Ryan'll probably shoot us out of the sky otherwise."

"Probably," Tempest agreed, fiddling with the comm as Ximena and Andros helped Ashley to her feet.

"Tempest!" Mira exclaimed the instant the comm screen snapped to life. "What happened?"

"I'll explain in a minute," Tempest said. "Let us dock the shuttle?"

"Us?" Mira's eyes drifted past Tempest. "Oh."

"No," Ryan snapped, coming up beside her.

"Tell Deca to begin docking maneuvers," Tempest said, paying no attention to her brother.

"Tempest-"

"It's my ship," Andros snapped at them, his temper aggravated by all the time they were wasting. He had a hunch Ashley shouldn't wait to see a doctor. "Dock the shuttle."

A moment later, he was stumbling off of the shuttle onto the Megaship with Ashley in his arms, Tempest, Skylar, and Ximena right behind him. Karone ran up to them, stopping short the instant she saw Ashley.

"Medical bay, now," she said firmly. "Mira, find that pink ranger who happens to be a doctor."

Mira nodded and ran off as Andros followed Karone slowly down the corridors, careful not to jolt Ashley's body. She was still awake, but he could tell it was a struggle for her, and the glazed look in her eye told him that she needed rest very badly.

"I'm Dana," the blond woman waiting for them in the medical bay introduced herself. Her eyes widened slightly at Ashley's appearance, but she hastened to say, "She'll be all right."

"Don't leave," Ashley mumbled, her blistered fingers clamping down weakly over Andros's as he set her down carefully on a patient bed.

Andros brushed his fingers over Ashley's cheek. "I'm not going anywhere Ash," he murmured in her ear. "Don't worry, I'll stay right here with you."

He glanced at Dana, who was busy assembling a pile of bandages and various medical supplies. "Let me help you."

She hesitated, and then nodded, realizing that there was nothing she could do to make him leave. "If you do exactly as I tell you."

Andros nodded instantly, squeezing Ashley's hand very gently. "You're all right now, Ash."

"Can you raise your arms?" Dana asked Ashley. "I need to see your back."

Ashley tried, but her muscles had stiffened, and her arms refused to move more than a few inches. Slowly, she shook her head, staring at the ground as Andros and Dana moved her arms for her. The tiles on the floor suddenly seemed to blend together, and she blinked, trying to clear her eyes, but that only served to blur her vision even more, and she slumped against Andros, squeezing her eyes shut.

Gently, Andros pushed her back up, gripping her by the uninjured portion of her forearms. "Only a little longer, Ash," he promised her. "Then you can sleep for a long time."

"Okay," she muttered, gasping softly as her back was suddenly doused in a cold liquid that caused all her wounds to burn like fire.

"It'll only sting for a minute," Dana assured her, beginning to bandage the wounds.

Ashley nodded her head, slumping against Andros once again as he settled his shirt around her again, the small warmth it offered her enough to pull her closer to sleep. This time, he didn't force her back into a sitting position, and held her to him as Dana wrapped her hands.

"When was the last time you ate?"

Ashley started as Andros shook her slightly. "Umm... three days ago?"

"Three days on Elon?" Andros asked sharply. When she nodded, he said for Dana's benefit, "Ninety hours."

"What about water?"

"Sometime today, I think," Ashley mumbled, her head refusing to clear long enough for her to think straight.

"So a few hours?"

Ashley nodded. Dana sighed and thought for a moment, speaking to Andros as Ashley started drifting off again. "Keep her hydrated. She'll be hungry, but don't let her eat much right away. As soon as you're both awake enough to do so, a shower will make you feel better. Get her a little to eat right now, and then she needs rest. You both do."

Andros nodded his thanks as he scooped Ashley into his arms again. "Come on, Ashley."

"Can I sleep now?" she murmured. "Please?"

"Just a few more minutes," Andros promised. "I don't want you starving to death."

It wasn't until he said those words that Ashley realized for the first time that her stomach felt like it was gnawing on itself to survive. "I think I already am starving to death."

"Can you sit?" he asked her gently. "Just for a few seconds?"

"Okay," she mumbled as he set her down on one of the stools in the glider bay. She leaned against the table to keep herself from toppling backwards, and true to his word, Andros was at her side again in less than a minute. He pressed a cool glass of water to her lips and Ashley tilted her head back, drinking eagerly.

"Eat," he ordered her quietly, kissing the top of her head as he placed a bowl of soup in front of her. "Then you can sleep."

The prospect of sleeping was enough for Ashley to gulp down half the bowl as quickly as Andros would let her, but it wasn't long before her eyes closed and refused to open again.

"All right, Ash," Andros whispered in her ear. "Let's go. You need sleep."

"Thank you," she mumbled gratefully, waking slightly as Andros placed her carefully in a bed, drawing the blankets up to her chin. "Andros, please don't leave."

Andros started to say that he was only going to reassure their children that they were all right, but his own exhaustion chose that moment to hit him, and he nearly collapsed himself. Sighing, he crawled into bed beside his wife, the feel of her heart beating against his lulluing him into a sound sleep in seconds.


	30. Chapter 30

Disclaimer: If I haven't said it's mine, then it's not. It's Saban's or Disney's or whoevers.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: **Your brother's coming just as soon as your parents are recovered enough to make him. :P Oh, and you'd better name him, or else you might get another sister. :P_

_**Juzblue:** This soon enough for ya?_

_**Mz. Daydream:** I love making Andros so sweet... but I hate making Ashley so fragile. Grr... anyway, she's all better now. Skylar was the one piloting the shuttle, although now that I think of it, maybe letting Marieke pilot a spacecraft is a bad idea. :P Yeah, the other rangers are on the Megaship, and they'll be back in the next chapter._

Chapter 30

"Mommy!"

Jenny ran into the bedroom, leaping up onto the bed and flinging her arms around Ashley's neck. Ashley returned the hug a more slowly; her arms were still quite stiff.

"Jenny," she whispered, kissing her daughter's forehead. Someone slammed into her hard from the side, and she quickly pulled her other daughter into her arms as well. "Marieke."

"Mommy, where did you and Daddy go to?" Marieke asked.

Ashley sighed and settled back against the pillows, a girl on each side of her. As she tried to come up with an explanation that would satisfy the twins and not traumatize them, Andros appeared in the doorway, cradling Seren carefully in his arms, followed by Aidan.

"Hey," he said softly, not wanting to wake the sleeping baby he was holding. "Zhane and Karone say she misses you, Ash."

"Give her to me," Ashley whispered, her eyes flooding suddenly with tears as she held her baby daughter for the first time in a month. "I've missed you too."

"Mommy, why are you crying?" Jenny asked.

"Because I'm happy," Ashley choked out. "I've missed all of you so much."

"Then why did you and Daddy go away?" Marieke wanted to know.

Ashley swallowed down her tears long enough to say, "We didn't want to."

"Then why did you?" Jenny pressed.

"Sometimes people have to do things that they don't want to do," Andros explained gently, lifting Marieke into his lap as he sat down beside Ashley. "We didn't want to leave you-"

"But you did," Aidan shouted suddenly, glaring at Ashley. "You promised you'd come back! You lied!"

"Aidan," Andros said sharply, shifting Marieke out of his lap. He followed his son as he started to run, catching him by the shoulder, pulling him back into the room. "Aidan, listen to me."

"I don't want to," Aidan snapped. "You'll lie to me too!"

"We came back, didn't we?" Andros said calmly. "It just took us a lot longer than we thought it would."

"But... where were you?" Aidan demanded. "Why didn't you come back?"

Andros sighed. "Sit down and I'll tell you."

Grudgingly, Aidan nodded, and joined the rest of them on the bed. "What happened?"

"We were captured," Andros began, realizing suddenly that it was going to be harder to tell this story than he'd thought at first.

"The Overlords sold us as slaves," Ashley continued, seeing how Andros had tensed as he'd tried to speak. "That's where we've been for the last month."

Aidan's eyes widened, and the anger slowly faded. "Slaves?"

"Daddy, what are slaves?" Marieke asked, looking up at Andros from where she sat in his lap.

"A slave is a person who has to do everything another person tells them to do," Andros said slowly, figuring that Aidan knew well enough what a slave was and the twins didn't need to know any more than that.

"Everything?" Marieke repeated.

Andros nodded.

"What did people tell you to do?"

He sighed. "There were two other people that I had to work with to keep a man's house clean and things like that."

"Mom, what happened to you?" Aidan asked, scooting closer to his parents.

"I was on a slave world," Ashley said after a moment of hesitation. "They had us digging all day long."

"Nothing but digging?" Aidan asked. "Then how did you get so hurt?"

"I couldn't dig fast enough," Ashley said, looking away.

"So they tortured you?"

"What's torture?" Jenny asked.

"Torture means that you hurt someone enough that they think they're going to die," Ashley said, after a moment's thought. "I wasn't tortured, Aidan."

"Oh," Aidan said.

"Mommy has to rest now," Andros said to the twins, prying their arms loose from around Ashley. "You can come see her later."

"Promise?" Marieke asked.

Andros nodded, giving each of the twins a kiss. "I promise... go to bed now, all right?"

"I'm sorry," Aidan muttered suddenly, stopping on his way out of the door.

"Come here," Ashley said gently, shifting Seren to one arm, wrapping the other around Aidan as he ran to her. "I love you, Aidan."

"I love you, Mom," he whispered back. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right," she said. "Just... know that your father and I would never leave you guys unless we were forced to."

"Really?"

Ashley nodded. "You guys matter more to us than anything."

"Get better," Aidan said, hesitating as he turned to the door again. "Mom? Can I take Seren?"

"You've been taking care of her," Andros said in surprise, watching Aidan lift his sister out of Ashley's arms with ease. "Haven't you?"

"She's not as bad as the twins," Aidan admitted. "Even if she's not a brother."

Andros laughed softly. "Go on, Aidan. We'll see you at breakfast."

"That was harder than I thought it would be," Ashley murmured as Andros locked the door and came to sit beside her again. "I knew that they'd ask, but..."

"I know," Andros muttered, kissing the top of her head, inhaling the familiar scent of her hair. "It's hard talking about something you were forced to do."

"It wasn't just that," she said, speaking slowly, thinking. "The thing that bothered me the most was knowing that I belonged to someone else."

"You don't," Andros whispered fiercely, kissing her temple. "You don't belong to anybody, Ash."

"I belong to you," Ashley said quietly.

"And I belong to you," Andros said, no louder than she, resting his chin on top of her head. "Always, Ash."

"Always," Ashley echoed. "I love you."

"I love you so much," Andros whispered. "I was so afraid that I'd never see you again."

"So was I," she whispered. "I kept thinking that if I didn't die, you were going to get yourself killed..."

"I almost did," he admitted. He sighed, suddenly feeling incredibly selfish. "I'm sorry, Ash. I kept trying to make him kill me, and you almost died saving a little boy."

"Don't be," she said softly. "It's all right."

"It's not," Andros protested. "I should have tried harder. I promised you I'd live, no matter what happened, but I just-"

"Andros," Ashley interrupted him, turning slowly to face him completely. "It doesn't matter anymore. You're alive, and that's all I care about. I know how proud you are, Andros, and I know how hard it was for you to-"

"But it shouldn't have been," he cried. "You were dumped into the worst place imaginable, and you still tried harder than I did."

"Andros," she said quietly, reaching for his hand. "No matter how close we are, we're two different people. What's hard for you isn't always hard for me. You think that you're selfish, but I know that you aren't."

Andros stared at his wife, wondering how she couldn't hate him when he hated himself so much. "Ashley, I love you."

She answered by pressing her lips insistently against his own. He returned the kiss eagerly, having missed the sensation much more than he'd realized. Slipping his hands behind her head, he leaned into her, determined never to let her go again. Ashley's arms curved around his neck, pulling him closer until he was laying on top of her.

For a moment, neither of them moved, completely content just to stare into the other's eyes. Ashley's lively brown orbs sparkled up at him, shining brighter as she reached up, tugging his head down until his face was close enough to kiss again. Andros crushed his mouth to hers, pulling back reluctantly a moment later.

"I'm not going to hurt you, am I?" he asked softly, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"No," Ashley replied instantly, her voice no louder than his had been. He must not have looked convinced; a moment later she added, "I might not be a ranger anymore, but the Power still heals me."

"I know." Andros grinned sheepishly at her. "I just couldn't live with myself if I hurt you."

"I know," Ashley said, brushing a few strands of his hair back from his face, gazing up at him fondly. "You're so sweet, Andros, but you don't need to worry. If I didn't want to, I wouldn't have kissed you."

Her smile grew infinitely more mischievous as she added innocently, "Besides, you're the one who has to do all the work."

She'd half expected him to blush and look away, but he didn't, calmly holding her gaze until she broke down laughing at the expression on his face. "I love you," she whispered, suddenly dangerously close to tears. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too," Andros said quietly as Ashley kissed him again. His reservations gone, he returned her kiss hungrily, suddenly needing her more than anything.


	31. Chapter 31

Disclaimer: If I haven't said that it's mine, then it's not.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Yup, you got your brother. And you got mail after all. :P_

_**Mz. Daydream:** Yeah, they needed some alone time. The other rangers are back in this chapter, and there's going to be a battle sometime soon, or else this story will go on forever. _

_**Jenny:** Yeah, this is where your brother comes from._

_**the-power-of-love:** Thanks, here's more. _

_**C.C.C:** Don't worry, you're not the only one. :P _

Chapter 31

"Morning, sleepy."

Andros blinked his eyes open, a smile creeping across his face as he found Ashley's face pressed so close to his own all he could see of her was her eyes. Stretching, he pulled back a little, wrapping both his arms loosely around Ashley's waist.

"Morning," he answered, tightening the hold he hand on her as she leaned in to kiss him. When she pulled back, he laughed softly. "If you're calling me sleepy, does that mean you feel better?"

Ashley nodded, laughing a bit herself as she said, "Yeah... all I needed was thirty-six straight hours worth of sleep and you."

Andros smiled and tucked her head under his chin. "I needed you too."

She sat up, stretching her arms out above her head, and he saw that she had been right when she'd said the Power still healed her. What had been alarmingly deep gashes in the skin of her back only two and a half days before were now little more than large scratches.

"Have I mentioned you're beautiful?" Andros asked softly, reaching out to trace several of the wounds with his thumb.

"Mmm... once or twice," she said teasingly. "But I wouldn't mind hearing it again."

"You're beautiful," he said sincerely, leaning forward to kiss the back of her neck. He caught her in his arms as Ashley started to lie back down, and they sat there in silence for a long moment. Ashley squirmed into his lap, leaning back against his chest as he wrapped his arms firmly around her, telekinetically drawing the blankets up halfway over themselves.

"We should get up now," he muttered reluctantly several minutes later, sighing heavily at the thought of pushing her away. "There's some people who think I'm hogging you, you know."

"I don't care," Ashley murmured, resting her head against his shoulder. "They can wait."

"Some of those people happen to be our children," he informed her, smiling at the back of her head.

She sighed and muttered reluctantly, "I guess we should get up, then."

Andros nodded, realizing a moment later that she couldn't see him. "We should."

Ashley crawled out of his lap and stood reluctantly, thinking that she could have easily stayed there with him all day. Andros climbed out of bed a moment later, glancing at Ashley in surprise as she grabbed his arm when he went to pick up his clothes.

"I'll be in the shower," she said, not dropping his hand. The invitation was clear, and he followed her into the bathroom without a second thought.

As soon as they were both clean, dry, and dressed, they left their room hand in hand, going off in search of their family and friends. They passed several other rangers on the way to the glider bay, some familiar faces, and others newer and stranger.

"Ashley!"

"Cassie!"

Ashley threw her arms around her best friend. "How are you?"

"I should be asking you that," Cassie retorted. She paused for effect and asked, "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Ashley assured her. At Cassie's skeptical look, she insisted, "Really."

"Andros, how is she?" Cassie gave Andros a knowing look. "How are you?"

"Almost fine," Andros said, laughing as Ashley made a face at him. "But we'll be okay."

"You'd better be," Karone said, coming up behind them. Andros rolled his eyes and wrapped his sister in a hug.

"I'm all right," he insisted as Zhane released Ashley and turned to him.

"Andros..." he said, staring at his best friend for a long moment with a slightly unfocued look, as if trying to remember something. Then his eyes cleared and his old grin was back on his face. "Your son is entirely too much like you."

Andros winced. "Which one?"

"I thought we only had one!" Ashley exclaimed, her eyes narrowing as everyone shifted uncomfortably. "What's going on?"

"Um, well, see, the thing is..." Zhane stopped and shrugged. "Andros, you explain."

Andros shot a healthy glare at Zhane and turned to Ashley, sighing. "The rangers... they're kind of all our kids from the future."

"Kind of?" Ashley repeated. "How exactly are they kind of our kids?"

"They're our kids," Andros mumbled nervously. _"Ash, I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. I just-"_

"I'm not mad," Ashley said. "Um, I just... so Ryan and Tempest are Aidan and... Seren?"

"Oh, Seren's with Carlos and Aura," Cassie said. "TJ went to get them."

"And we're back," a familiar voice announced. Ashley took Seren from Aura as the three people who hadn't yet smothered them in hugs proceeded to do so.

"Wait," Ashley said suddenly. "Who are Jenny and Marieke?"

"Skylar and Ximena," Andros said softly, watching her face carefully. "They're good now, Ash. They turned good to save us."

"Oh," Ashley said flatly. "Umm..."

"Well, you've taken it the best of us all," TJ said dryly.

"So they're on our side now?" Ashley asked, just to be sure.

Andros nodded. "They'll fight with us all during the final battle."

"When is that, by the way?" Zhane asked. "It's not like I'll be doing anything then, but I'd like to know."

"Why won't you be doing anything?" Ashley asked.

"We've only been Astro rangers," Zhane said, gesturing to himself and Andros. "And Karone's only been a Galaxy ranger. There aren't enough morphers for us."

"So the three of us will fight from up here," Karone said. "Zhane, you're going to be doing **something**."

"Oh, that reminds me," Cassie said, offering the yellow Turbo key to Ashley. "If you're feeling up to it..."

Ashley took the key, twirling it between her palms for a moment. "Thanks."

She caught Andros's eye then, and though he looked away quickly, it wasn't quickly enough for her to miss the apprehension that darkened his eyes.

_"What?"_

_"Nothing."_

_"Andros..."_

_"It's stupid," _he said, relenting. _"But I just don't want to be stuck up here while you're down there and we can't help each other."_

Ashley hesitated. She didn't want to be fighting apart from him, either, and if the battle was anytime soon, she wasn't sure that she was ready. Contemplating the key in her hand for a moment longer, she turned to Karone and offered it to her.

"Would you... " she started to say, and stopped, not knowing how to finiish.

Karone nodded instantly, her fingers clasping around the key. "If you're sure."

"I am," Ashley said instantly.

_"Ash, you didn't have to..."_ Andros started to say guiltily.

_"I wanted to," _she broke in. _"Don't start."_

He gaved her a relieved smile and nodded, his smile fading quickly as the alarm shrilled.


	32. Chapter 32

Disclaimer: Last time I checked, I owned nothing.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Your brother is Lala! Or Cadan. Wait, that rhymes with Aidan... oh well. I like Cadan. Wait. Zhane and Karone's kid is Kaden. Is that the same name? _

_**Mz. Daydream:** They really can't get enough of each other... Their kids show up right about now... Yeah, big battle. :P_

_**Jenny:** I didn't update for lots and lots of days. Happy now:P_

Chapter 32

"Deca, what's happening?" Andros shouted over the noise of the alarm.

"The rangers have requested assistence," Deca informed them.

"Let's go," TJ said, falling into the Turbo rangers morphing stance.

Andros grabbed Ashley by the hand and pulled her out of the holding bay and towards the bridge, Zhane following close behind. As they worked their way through the Megaship, they heard the morphing calls of half a dozen ranger teams.

"Let's see if I remember how this works," Zhane said, a strained grin on his face as he took a seat to Andros's left. "We try not to get hit."

"Something like that," Ashley agreed from Andros's other side.

"Daddy?"

Zhane swore softly under his breath as his son and daughter appeared on the bridge. "Zora, Kaden, what are you doing here?"

"Daddy, what's going on?"

"Mom!" Aidan suddenly appeared next to Zora, Seren in his arms, Jenny and Marieke in tow. "What's happening? Why are the alarms going off?"

"We're in the middle of a battle," Ashley explained as Andros began firing the torpedoes at the Overlords' ship. "Don't worry. We'll all be all right."

"Can we stay?"

"If you don't talk," Andros said tersely, not taking his eyes off of the viewing screen. The Overlords began firing back and the Megaship shuddered as they took a hit. "Ash, sheilds?"

"Ours or theirs?"

"Ours."

"Ninety percent," Ashley reported. "But falling."

Andros muttered something she couldn't hear. "Theirs?"

"Ninety-nine percent and steady," she said anxiously.

"Zhane," Andros shouted suddenly as the Megaship veered sharply to the left without a second's warning, nearly throwing them all across the bridge. "What was that?"

"Evasive action," Zhane said grimly. "There's something coming at us from behind now."

Andros growled under his breath and began firing furiously, not about to lose now.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"All right," TJ cried as he and his team landed down on KO-35. "Let's go."

"Cassie, look out!" Karone shouted, seizing the pink ranger and pulling her down as a Quantron blade whizzed by overhead.

"Thanks," she gasped out shakily as she stood.

"No problem," Karone said, a grim smile on her face. "Oh, did I ever mention the Quantron's one weakness?"

"They have a weakness?" Justin Stewart demanded, stumbling back, winded.

"Back of their necks," the yellow ranger informed them calmly, expertly stunning a half dozen of them. "There's a space where their helmets don't meet with the rest of their armor."

"And why couldn't you have told us this nine years ago?" Carlos grumbled. "It certainly would have made things easier."

"I was supposed to be fighting **against** you!"

"That's not the point," Carlos retorted. He dropped to the ground, tripping several of them, and dealt them each a fierce blow to the weak spot Karone had mentioned. "Hey, it does work!"

"Told you," Karone replied smugly.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Duck!"

The voice was unfamiliar, but Tempest obeyed without a second's thought, not caring to find out what would happen otherwise. A volley of laser fire passed by overhead and she leapt up the minute the shots ceased, allowing the pink ranger standing over her to pull her to her feet.

"Thanks," she said, firing her Star Slinger several times in succession. "Who are you, by the way?"

"My name's Jen."

"Your team's from the future, right?"

"Yeah," Jen replied, both of them hitting the ground. "Like yours."

"Yeah..."

Jen laughed a little. "The future can be changed. Don't worry."

"Thanks," Tempest replied, suddenly catching sight of Ailbhe, and worse, her brother attemtping to take him on single handedly. "Uh, I've got to go..."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sheilds failed," Ashley announced grimly. "Andros..."

"Engines at half power," Zhane reported. "You guys know what that means."

"Daddy?"

Zhane groaned. "Deca?"

"I am here."

"Get the kids out of here," he ordered. "I don't care where you put them."

"Mom," Aidan shouted. "What's going on?"

"It's all right," Ashley assured him. "You'll be all right."

"But what about you?" he demanded.

Andros sighed. "Don't worry about us. Deca, teleport them as far away from the battle as you can."

Zhane let his face fall forward into his hands as the children vanished from the bridge. "Is there anything left for us to do?"

"Yes," Ashley said firmly. "We still have some time."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Idiot!"

Ryan winced as Ximena suddenly appeared at his side. "I was just..."

"You can't take him on alone," she argued. "You do know that?"

"And I suppose you're going to help?" he retorted sarcastically.

"Do you really think I'd just let you die?"

"Do you really want an answer to that?"

"No," she decided, drawing her sword. "But if you want to live, you're going to have to trust me."

"And me." Skylar stepped over to them, sword in hand. "Let's go."

"Not without me," Tempest put in, joining them. "And not without them."

Ryan sighed inwardly as the Astro team approached, but nodded. "Let's go."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The three Overlords stood side by side as the Astro team plus Skylar and Ximena approached, weapons drawn. They wasted no time in meeting the challenge, and without wasting a moment, an all out battle was raging. With Skylar and Ximena's knowledge of the Overlords' battle tactics, and the fact that the rangers outnumbered the Overlords nine to three, the advantage was theirs.

"Ciaran!"

The blue ranger hit the ground at Damien's warning, slashing at Idris with his Astro Ax on the way up. The blow hit, and the Overlord fell back. Ciela blocked Ciaran's next attack, tossing him back carelessly into his teammates.

"Hey!" another voice called, and they turned to see that the footsoldiers had been beaten. A few dozen rangers slowly made their way to surround the Overlords. "Need a hand?"

"I think it's time to finish this," Ryan exclaimed, his powered-up Spiral Saber cocked and ready to fire.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_"Don't even think about it."_

Ashley's hand closed over Andros's wrist, yanking his hand away from the small red button it had been resting on. He looked up at her guiltily, and then glanced back down at the self-destruct mechanism.

"Andros, if we die, then we die," she said, her anger well hidden but present just the same. "But we will not kill ourselves for them. Do you understand me?"

"I'm sorry, Ash."

"Hey," she said, her voice softening. "We're going to be all right."

"Look at this," Zhane exclaimed, pointing at the veiwing screen. "I think we just won!"

"What?" Andros's head shot up.

_"I told you we'd be all right."_

He gave Ashley a small smile. She rested both her hands on his, her warmth enough to convince him that he was still alive.

"I think they're going to kill them," Zhane said softly.

"Turn it off," Andros said suddenly, standing abruptly. "I don't want to watch."

_"Andros?"_

_"They're our kids, Ash,"_ he explained. _"I know that they have to, but Aidan's only eight. Seren's just a baby. I don't want to think about them being killers."_

_"Neither do I,"_ she assured him, coming forward to wrap her arms around him.

"You guys," Zhane called urgently. "Everything's gone white."

"What!"

"Just look."

Ashley had time to catch one glimpse of brightness before the world exploded.

_**A/N:** Well, my writer's block decided to go away, so I updated! Sorry it took me so long. I hope you liked it, please review, and please go check out Saving Angel, the story I've been working on while waiting for my writer's block to go away. The next chapter of Different Defenders will only be a few days, I promise. _


	33. Chapter 33

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, unless I say it is. It's Disney's or whoever I borrowed it from.

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Yeah, he's on the way. Assuming I didn't kill them all, that is. :P_

_**Juzblue:** Things do look bad, but do you really thing I'd kill Andros and Ashley? On second thought, don't answer that..._

_**Jenny:** I know you love calling people idiots... And I didn't make up Saving Angel, either. Marieke did. :P_

_**Mz. Daydream:** Thanks... Don't worry, I didn't do anything bad to them. :P_

Chapter 33

Thrown backwards through the air by the bright white light, Ashley landed hard, sprawled on her back, the wind knocked out of her. Gasping, she struggled to sit up, feeling two strong arms slip beneath her shoulders as the light faded away.

"Breathe, Ash," Zhane ordered her gently, rubbing small circles in her back to calm her as she struggled to force some air back into her lungs.

"What - "

"Energy readings were off the charts," Zhane informed her. "I think... it was their energy, fading away."

"So they're gone?"

Zhane nodded. "It looks that way."

"Andros," she gasped suddenly. "Is he - "

"He'll be fine," he assured her. "He's just knocked out."

"Where is he?" she demanded, struggling away from him.

"Ash, rest for a minute," Zhane tried to convince her, but she shook her head, crawling on her hands and knees to the spot where her husband was laying, unmoving.

"Andros," she whispered, cradling his head on her lap. "Come on, open your eyes."

Encouraged when she saw him stir a little, she stroked his cheek, feeling him twitch beneath her fingers. His hazel eyes opened slowly, and gazed up at her in confusion.

"Ash?"

"It's all right," she assured him, exhaling quietly with relief. "We're all still here."

"What happened?"

"I think that's something we'd all like to know," she told him dryly, helping him into a sitting position. "Deca, can you get a visual on the rangers?"

"Affirmative."

The viewing screen was filled with snowy static for a moment or two, and then burst to life, giving them a clear picture of KO-35. The streets were empty of either footsoldiers or Overlords, the only people being the fifty or so rangers congregated in the park.

Ashley's clear laughter snapped Andros out of his stunned silence. "We did it," she said quietly. "It's over."

He nodded silently in agreement, wrapping his arms around his wife and holding her close. After everything, she was still in his arms, and for that, he had never been more grateful.

"Deca, get us down there," Zhane ordered.

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"We don't belong here," Tempest said quietly, drawing away from the battle scene, her teammates following close behind.

"We don't belong anywhere," Skylar corrected her sadly. "We're from a future that doesn't exist now."

"Then what do we do about it?" Damien demanded. "Kill ourselves?"

"Don't talk like that," Tempest snapped. "Of course not."

Ryan sighed. "Can we... go back?"

"To where we came from, you mean?" Ximena regarded him thoughtfully for a moment. "Why would we want to?"

"We're from a future that doesn't exist," Ryan said slowly, repeating what Skylar had said a moment before. "I find that hard to believe."

"And you want to see it for yourself," Tempest finished, giving her brother a knowing look. "You can't, Ry, not if it's gone."

"What if it isn't gone?" he countered. "What if it's still there, exactly as we left it?"

Mira bit her lip. "With all those people who needed us..."

"That we didn't save," Matt finished glumly. He paused. "Can we even go back?"

"There's only one way to find out," Melanie said firmly. "If we can... we've saved this world. We can save our own."

"Yeah," Tempest said with a faint grin. "We can..."

"Then what's wrong?" Ximena prodded.

Tempest sighed. "It's just that... here, we have family."

"We'll always have family," Skylar told her sister fiercely. "We've found each other now, haven't we?"

"But they're dead there, aren't they?" she said softly.

"All our parents, you mean?" Ciaran asked, his eyes darkening. "I don't see how they could have survived..."

Skylar and Ximena exchanged glances. "Rangers are hard to kill," Ximena said finally. "No matter what happens."

"So you're telling me that our parents are still alive?" Tempest demanded. "Still slaves?"

"Not slaves," another voice said.

"Spyridon!" Ximena gasped. "You're alive."

"I am," the black-clad boy said quietly. "I should have fought with you."

"At least you didn't fight with them." Ryan sighed. "What happened to our parents?"

"They escaped," Spyridon said simply. "All of them. It took fourteen years for all of them to find one another again. They knew where you were. We were ordered to go after you because they were on their way back."

"So they're waiting for us?" Melanie demanded, her dark eyes shining.

Skylar nodded. "If we can get back."

"We can," Tempest said determinedly. "Somehow."

"Hey!"

"They'll understand, won't they?" Mira asked softly, sadly, as the past forms of their parents approached. "I mean, we have to go, but..."

"But we were happy here?" Ciaran finished. "We can be happy anywhere."

"Besides, we've got a world to fix," Melanie added.

Tempest unstrapped the yellow morpher from her left wrist, offering it to Ashley as her mother reached her, Marieke in her arms and Jenny in Andros's. Aidan followed close behind with Seren. Tempest smiled at her baby self, but pressed the morpher firmly into Ashley's hand.

"Thank you."

"For what?" Ashley demanded, her fingers refusing to close over the morpher. "You can keep it."

"It belongs here," Tempest said quietly. "I can't take it with me."

"Take it with you where?" Andros asked suspiciously, noticing that the rest of the rangers had removed their morphers as well. He took Ryan's reluctantly. "What's going on?"

"We have to go," Tempest said. "There's no other way."

"You're leaving?" Marieke demanded, struggling down out of Ashley's arms. "You can't!"

"She has to, sweetie," Ashley said, kneeling down next to her daughter. "She has to go home."

"She can live with us," Jenny suggested hopefully. "Him too."

"We already do," Ryan said dryly. Tempest grinned and shook her head.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "But we have to go."

"Go where?" Marieke demanded.

"Home," she said simply.

Before the word had left her mouth, they were gone, as if they had never been there, vanishing into the air in ten streaks of colored light.

Cassie was the first to break the silence. "They're gone."

TJ wrapped his arm around her. "They've gone to put their world back together," he told her soothingly. "They'll be all right."

Ashley glanced down at the morpher she still held in her hand, taking a deep breath to mask her sadness. "They did a good job," she said softly, biting her lip. "But we've still got some work to do."

_**Author's Note:** Okay, so it was a little longer than a few days, but I updated! Only a chapter or two left in this story, and I swear it'll be done by the end of the year, hopefully. I hope you liked it, please review. _


	34. Chapter 34

Disclaimer: Not mine!

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** I updated soon! Your brother's coming, don't worry. :P _

_**Jenny:** Well, I updated! That's a start. The epilogue is going to take a few more days, I'm still working on the whole parallel future dimesion thingy. _

_**Mz. Daydream:** Yeah, they're gone. For now. I'm thinking I'll try to work them into the epilogue somehow, which will be up soon, I promise. This chapter is mostly for **someone** who thought one brother wasn't enough. :P _

Chapter 34

Smiling happily, Ashley gazed out at the barren, deserted world that a month and a half before had been the largest, harshest slave world there had been. Her smile slipped a bit as she recalled the long month she had spent there, but soon brightened again at the knowledge that all the captives were safe.

"Happy?" a voice whispered in her ear. Two strong arms slipped around her waist from behind.

"Very," she murmured, leaning back contentedly against Andros's chest. "I just wish we could have saved them all."

"So do I," Andros told her with a sigh, whirling her around to face him. "But we did the best we could."

"Sometimes... it doesn't seem like enough, though," Ashley said.

"That's because it's not," Andros said softly. "But... we might be rangers, but in the end, we're only human and there's only so much that we can do ourselves."

"We're only human," Ashley agreed. "But so were the people who ran this place."

Andros's eyes darkened. "True." He paused briefly, gazing out at the harsh landscape. "We'll never stop, Ash, but there's too much evil out there for us to do on our own."

"But we're not on our own," Ashley pointed out. "There are hundreds of other rangers in the universe, and someday..."

"Someday we'll win," Andros finished for her. He grinned. "I sound like you."

"About time, too," Ashley muttered just loudly enough to be heard. She felt him stifle a laugh and added, "Sometimes you're too gloomy for your own good."

"Yeah, but..." Andros stepped back just far enough to grasp her chin and pull her face up to meet his. He kissed her lips lightly before continuing. "That's what I keep you around for."

"Oh, really?" Ashley smirked, her eyes gleaming brightly. "That's all I'm good for?"

"Now that you mention it..." Andros grinned at her before tightening the grip he had on his wife, tucking her head beneath his chin. "I love you, you know."

"I kinda figured." Ashley's laughter was muffled but he heard it all the same and smiled down into her hair as she added softly, "I love you too."

"I wanna go home now!"

Ashley jumped as a small hand tugged at the bottom of her shirt. Pulling away from Andros, she glanced down at Marieke, who was staring up at them impatiently.

"I don't like it here," she continued. "I wanna go home!"

"So do I," Ashley agreed, bending down to scoop her daughter up into her arms.

"Mom!" Aidan dashed down the ramp, skidding to a halt just before he ran straight into his parents. "Dad! Jenny stole Seren!"

"I did not!"

Jenny was sitting cross-legged on the ground just inside the cargo bay, Seren sleeping in her lap. Andros stopped Aidan as he went to snatch her away.

"Do you **really** want her to wake up?" he demanded with a grin.

"No!" Aidan shook his head hastily. "Never mind."

Ashley grinned inwardly, remembering the closeness between Ryan and Tempest, and sighed. Somehow, she knew that her children would be in their place, fighting what seemed a long, hopeless fight, with love the only thing keeping them going, as it had been for her.

"It's all right," Andros said softly, laying a hand on her arm, the look in his eyes making it clear that he knew what she was thinking. "They'll be all right. We all will."

"Yeah," she said. "All of us."

"Deca, set a course for KO-35," Andros ordered.

"Daddy, can I watch a movie?"

Andros laughed as he watched Jenny attempt to stand without either dropping or waking Seren. Bending down, he carefully lifted the baby girl out of her sister's arm, cradling her against his chest, planting a kiss on the top of her small head.

"Go ahead," he said.

Jenny ran off, Marieke close close behind. Aidan watched them go, hesitating. In the end, he didn't follow them, and glanced back at Ashley.

"Next time, I want a brother."

"Umm..."

"First, we'll see if there **is** a next time," Andros said quickly, saving Ashley from having to reply.

"Umm..." Ashley said again. Andros turned to give her a sharp glance, his face softening into a grin.

"Aidan, I need to talk to your mom," he said, biting his lip to keep from laughing. Aidan took the hint and vanished down the corridor. Andros laughed quietly, before turning to Ashley.

"Sit," he said, settling down on the floor himself. Ashley joined him a moment later, watching him sheepishly.

"I was going to tell you tomorrow," she said with a rueful grin. "I thought it'd make a nice surprise for our anniversary..."

Andros laughed, slipping one arm around her shoulders. "It was definitely a surprise," he told her wryly. "How much longer?"

"A little less than eight months."

Seren stirred, her chubby hands waving around in the air as she stretched. A moment later, her bright eyes were open, shining up at her parents as they stared down at her adoringly.

"Give her to me," Ashley said quietly, careful not to startle the sleepy baby. "She's probably hungry again."

Andros passed her the little girl, smiling as he watched Ashley nurse their daughter. He pulled her closer to him, laying his free arm over hers, holding both his wife and daughter in his arms.

"She's got your hair," Andros observed, gently stroking the top of Seren's head as she continued to nurse. The soft fuzz that had covered her head had mostly disappeared, and her hair had begun to grow in, all brown.

Ashley nodded against his shoulder, lacing her fingers through his. "I like it when they have your eyes," she said softly.

"I like it when they have yours." Andros's smile grew wider. "Give me your hand."

Ashley gazed at him in confusion for a moment but did as he asked, offering him her right hand. Andros slipped a hand into the pocket of his jeans, his fingers clenched when his hand reappeared. Smooth metal, warmed from the heat of his body touched Ashley's fingers, her eyes widening when she saw what it was.

"Andros," she whispered, staring down at the two golden rings with tears suddenly smarting in her eyes.

"They're not the same ones," he said softly. "But I... I wanted to - "

"I know," she assured him, shifting Seren down into her lap for a moment as she selected the larger of the two rings, her other hand reaching for Andros's. "With this ring, I thee wed," she whispered, laughing a little.

"With this ring, I thee wed," Andros echoed just as quietly, slipping the ring onto her finger. He waited until Ashley was cradling Seren in her arms once again before pulling her close. "I love you, Ashley Hammond," he whispered in her ear. "Always and forever."

_**A/N:** Wasn't that sweet:P Only the epilogue left now. It'll be up sometime this week, next weekend at the latest, I promise. Please review. _


	35. Epilogue

Disclaimer:Don't own it, never said I did.

_**Juzblue:** Thanks. This is the last part._

_**Mz. Daydream:** Yup, one more baby. And yeah, they really need the closure._

_**Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow:** Here's your brother! Happy now?_

_**PinkRanger4Evr:** Thanks. Here's the end._

_**Jenny:** Yup, all that counts is their love. :P_

_**Ashley n Andros fan:** Five kids is a lot, but it just seemed to happen that way..._

Epilogue

"I'll get that," Andros said, standing up as the door chimed softly. Ashley shot him a grateful look before turning her attention back to the child in her lap and the one just in front of her.

Fourteen-month-old Seren babbled quietly to herself as she waved a rattle in her two-month-old brother's face. His small hand flailed about for it, his tiny fingers catching ahold of the toy after several tries.

"Ash," Andros said softly. His tone of voice was enough to cause her head to snap up in alarm, her eyes widening as she took in who stood behind him.

"What are you doing here?" she exclaimed softly, careful not to startle the baby.

"We don't exactly know ourselves," Tempest admitted wryly. "But well..."

"We thought we should come and tell you that we were all right," Skylar finished. "We left sort of suddenly."

"And we never thanked you for everything that you did for us," Ryan added.

"Actually, you did," Ashley said with a grin, motioning for them to sit. "But you didn't need to."

"We know," Tempest assured her.

"We just wanted to," Ximena said. Her eyes drifted to the small boy in Ashley's arms. Her eyes lit up and she knelt down beside Ashley, touching the baby's head gently. "Is his name Cadan?"

"How'd you know that?" she asked in surprise. "Oh... he exists where you are, too."

"Yeah," Tempest said with a grin. "Sort of."

"Sort of?"

"Well, he exists," Ximena said, frowning. "But he's a few more years younger... it took our parents longer to be reunited than it took you two."

"How much longer?" Ashley couldn't help asking.

"Ten years," Ryan admitted.

"Ten years?" Andros repeated, his heart aching at the thought of spending so much time away from his wife and children.

"Yeah," Tempest said a bit dejectedly, brightening as she added, "But we're all okay now."

"Is your world safe yet?" Ashley asked.

"As safe as yours," Skylar said a moment later. "But... there's still work to be done."

"There always is," Andros pointed out.

"But someday there won't be," Ashley added firmly.

"Yeah," Tempest agreed. "Someday."

"Hi!"

Tempest laughed as Marieke appeared out of nowhere and scrambled up onto the couch, throwing her arms around her neck.

"Hi," she said, wrapping her other arm around Jenny as the other girl hopped up next to her sister. "How are you guys?"

"Good," Marieke said. She frowned. "But school is stupid."

"Yeah," Jenny agreed. "Seren and Cadan are lucky."

"They don't have to go to school," Marieke said with a pout. "But we do."

"And kindergarten is boring," Jenny finished.

Tempest laughed. "I know... but your parents want you to learn stuff."

"I don't wanna learn!" Jenny informed her. "Learning is boring."

"But recess is fun," Marieke reminded her.

"Oh yeah..."

"Where's Aidan at?" Ashley asked. "He did walk home with you, right?"

"Yeah," Jenny said. "But he went to see Erean."

"Why don't you two go play somewhere else for awhlie?" Ashley suggested. "Please?"

"Will you leave?" Marieke demanded.

"No," Tempest said quickly. "Not for awhile."

Marieke looked at her suspiciously but in the end she and Jenny ran off.

Ryan laughed. "You want to hear everything, don't you?"

"Everything," Ashley confirmed. "Starting from when you got back."

"This is going to take awhile," Ryan warned.

"That's all right," Ashley said, lifting Seren into her arms as Ximena took Cadan. "We're not going anywhere."

"You go first," Ryan said to Tempest, who grinned.

Andros shifted to sit next to Ashley on the ground, wrapping on arm around her waist. She smiled and leaned against him, more grateful than ever that they had found each other.

The End

_**A/N:** Well, that's the end... This wasn't quite what I had in mind when I started this story, but it worked out all right, I guess. I think I'll go back to the angsty fluff, though. I hope you liked it, please review. _


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